The Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel ( mt, Santwarju Bażilika tal-Madonna tal-Karmnu) is a Carmelite

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, located in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It is one of the major churches of Valletta, and it forms part of a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

which includes the entire city. The present church was constructed between 1958 and 1981 on the site of a late 16th century church which was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

granted a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation towards its venerated Marian image of

Our Lady of Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Ca ...

on 19 June 1880 through the Vatican Chapter. The coronation took place on 15 July 1881.

History

First church

The Carmelite Order had a presence on Malta from at least 1418, and it established a church and convent within Valletta shortly after the city's founding in 1566.

Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

Grand Master

Pierre de Monte Fra' Pietro del Monte (1499 − 26 January 1572) was an Italian nobleman who was the 50th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John from 1568 to 1572. Pietro del Monte was born in Italy in 1499. His original name was Guido Lotti, but took the name ...

transferred a plot of land to the Carmelites on 27 July 1570; the deed of transfer was retained within the records of notary Placido Habel. The property was transferred for 66

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''s ...

, but in April 1571 del Monte issued two decrees which rescinded this sum, such that the Carmelites were granted the land for free. Carmelite vicar Ġwann Vella commissioned architect

Girolamo Cassar Girolamo Cassar ( mt, Ġlormu Cassar, 1520 – 1592) was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He was the resident engineer of the Order of St. John, and was admitted into the Order in 1569. He was involved in the construction of Valletta, ...

to design the church and priory. While these were being constructed, mass was celebrated in a small temporary chapel dedicated to the Annunciation. Inquisitor

Pietro Dusina Pietro Dusina was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Brescia who was the inquisitor and apostolic delegate to Malta between 1574 and 1575. Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the islan ...

visited it in February 1575 and made a record of its contents. The chapel served as the first

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Valletta, until it was later absorbed into the parish of St Paul's Shipwreck. Cassar's church was completed in 1591 or 1608. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, numerous Hospitaller knights donated money, property or artworks to the Carmelite friars, and one such knight, Girolamo de Fosses, paid for the construction of a chapel dedicated to

Our Lady of Pilar Our Lady of the Pillar ( es, Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 4 ...

within the church. The building was especially patronised by knights from the German langue who were based in the nearby Auberge d'Allemagne and did not have their own dedicated church. In 1852, a new façade was constructed to designs of architect

Giuseppe Bonavia Giuseppe Bonavia (1821 – 2 September 1885) was a Maltese draughtsman and architect who was mainly active in the second half of the 19th century. Born in Valletta, he was initially a clerk of works with the Royal Engineers, before becoming the ...

, and some internal alterations were also made at this point. The church's altarpiece was crowned by Bishop

Carmelo Scicluna Carmelo Scicluna (3 August 1800 – 12 July 1888) was a Maltese prelate and count who served as the Titular Archbishop of Rhodes and Bishop of Malta from 1875 till 1888. Archbishop Scicluna was born in Qormi on 3 August 1800. He was ordaine ...

on 15 July 1881, and on 6 April 1886, the church was consecrated by Apostolic Administrator Antonio Maria Buhagiar.

gave it the status of

on 13 May 1895. On 4 March 1942, during

, the church was bombarded and it suffered serious damage. The Carmelite friars subsequently decided to demolish its ruins and replace it with a new church. Several artistic and historic objects were lost in the process, although many of the old church's contents survived and were reincorporated into the new building.

Present church

left, The Basilica's dome ''(right)'' and the bell tower of St Paul's Pro-Cathedral ''(left)'' in the cityscape of Valetta The present church was built to designs of the architect

Ġużè Damato Ġużè or Joseph Damato (13 December 1886 – 25 May 1963) was a Maltese architect who designed a number of churches and other ecclesiastical buildings during the 20th century. He was a pioneer of the use of reinforced concrete in Malta, and his ...

. Construction commenced on 30 April 1958, when the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was blessed by the Prior General. The building was completed on 15 June 1981, subsequently being blessed by Prior Provincial Manwel Gatt. The church's dome is slightly higher than the bell tower of the nearby Anglican St Paul's Pro-Cathedral, and it was reportedly deliberately designed in order to compete with it. The church's interior was sculpted by Joseph Damato over a period of 19 years. The church falls under the jurisdiction of the parish of St Dominic, and the building is listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mo ...

Architecture

The 16th century church had a length of and a width of , and it consisted of a wide

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and lateral chapels with a total of ten altars. It had a low dome and a bell tower, and the interior was decorated by painted frescoes. The 20th century church has been described as an example of

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

. It has a large, high oval dome which occupies a prominent position in the Valletta skyline facing Marsamxett. Internally, the church has columns of red marble. A niche with a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is located is located on the church's exterior, at the corner of Old Theatre and Old Mint Streets. The statue was sculpted by Salvatore Dimech in 1855.

Artworks

The church's altarpiece is a painting of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

holding a baby

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, flanked by saints

Simon Stock Simon Stock, O.Carm was an English Catholic priest and saint who lived in the 13th century and was an early prior of the Carmelite order. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, t ...

and

Agatha of Sicily Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the ...

. The painting's artist and origins are unknown, but it is believed to date back to at least the late 16th or early 17th centuries and some attribute it to

Filippo Paladini Filippo Paladino (1544 -1614) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born near Florence in Tuscany and remained there until circa 1586 when he was imprisoned and subsequently exiled to Malta. From there, he moved to Sicily where he was active ...

. Some sources state that the work was acquired by the Carmelites from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

at the time of the first church's construction. The painting was restored by Paul Cuschieri in 1856, by Samwel Bugeja in 1978, and by Godwin Cutajar in the 21st century. A wooden statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel which was sculpted in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1781 is located within a niche in the church. It stands on a silver pedestal designed by Abram Gatt, and it was restored by Publius Magro in the 21st century. The church also includes the 1670s work ''Beato Franco'' by

Maria de Dominici Suor Maria de Dominici (6 December 1645 – 18 March 1703) was a Maltese painter, sculptor, and a Carmelite tertiary nun. Born into a family of artists based in the city of Birgu (Vittoriosa), she was the daughter of a goldsmith and appraiser f ...

Burials

Numerous people were buried inside the church, including several Hospitaller knights,

Caterina Scappi Caterina Scappi (died 20 June 1643) was a rich and well-respected benefactor of the Carmelite church in Malta. Little is known about her origins or early life, but she is known for the substantial charitable donations for women's causes. In parti ...

and

Caterina Vitale Caterina Vitale (1566–1619) was the first female pharmacist and chemist in Malta, and the first female pharmacist of the Knights Hospitaller. Caterina Vitale was originally from Greece. She married Ettore Vitale, pharmacist of the Knights Ho ...

. Scappi and Vitale's Baroque marble tombstones survived World War II and were affixed onto the walls of the new church.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Valletta 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta 1570 establishments in Malta Basilica churches in Malta Buildings and structures in Malta destroyed during World War II Buildings and structures in Valletta Carmelite churches in Malta Church buildings with domes Limestone churches in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic shrines in Malta Neoclassical church buildings in Malta