One of grandma's treasures that held me spellbound as a boy was a transparent dome, the size of a rock cake on a black base inside of which lay a church submerged in a colourless liquid.
You probably know the ones I mean. I used to take hold of this souvenir - when Nanna wasn't looking - turn it upside down and lose myself in a world of make believe as a shower of white specks, mimicking a snowfall, drifted to the bottom of the cupola.
I got the same magical feeling viewing the latest works by George Apap called Mogħdijiet fil-Mosta.
The title is something of a misnomer because, in his vibrant homage to the Mostin who have made Mr Apap and his family one of their own, the exhibition shows much more than a cluster of winding footpaths.
Strewn with wild plants, the footpaths lead nowhere except, perhaps, where the imagination takes those who trek along them. Footpaths that guide you to the fascinating architectural gems along the way, including quaint chapels, the odd windmill and razzett that act like sacred ground, keeping the urban sprawl at a safe distance.
The Rotunda church features among the 25 watercolours Mr Apap is showing, not in its entire grandeur, but as a majestic queen with its head towering in the sky, around which the people, mostly from Mosta go about their daily lives.
The watercolours are on display until April 19 at Ir-Razzett tal-Markiż Mallia Tabone in Triq Wied il-Għasel, Mosta. The opening times are Monday to Sunday 6 to 9 p.m. and on Sunday also between 9 a.m. and noon. The exhibition is one of the events being held marking Mosta's 400th year as a parish.
"I was born in Xagħra and spent a lot of my early years with other boys scouring the valley separating Xagħra from Żebbuġ.
"That explains my nostalgia for valleys and unbeaten tracks and the marvels of nature that they support," Mr Apap said.
The landmarks painted by Mr Apap include Is-City bar and restaurant and the Lord Nelson, formerly a bar which is now a fine eatery, and a series of chapels.
In a foreword to the book One Hundred Wayside Chapels Of Malta And Gozo by Kilin, Mario Buhagiar notes that by 1575, there were on these islands over 400 churches for a population that barely reached 20,000.
Most chapels were built in thanks for favours received through divine intervention.
Kilin, which is the moniker Mikiel Spiteri uses as a writer, points out that many of the chapels are linked to legends, traditions and quaint customs.
"At least one is haunted. A certain cross or statue in another commemorates a miraculous deliverance from the plague... In yet another, you may be shown a statuette that used to be lowered in the sea along with the fishing nets as a silent prayer for a good catch".