From 218 BCE to 395 CE, Malta was under Roman political control, initially as a praetorship of Sicily. The islands were eventually elevated to the status of Roman municipium, with the power to control domestic affairs, mint their own money, and send ambassadors to Rome. It was during this period that St. Paul was shipwrecked on the Maltese Islands and introduced Christianity. Few archeological relics survive in Malta today from the Roman period, the sole exception being the Roman Domus, just outside the walls of Mdina. From a cultural perspective, the Roman period is notable for the arrival in Malta of several highly placed Roman families, whose progeny form part of the Maltese nation today. These include the Testaferrata family (originally, "Capo di Ferro"), today one of Malta's premier noble families.