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St Mary's Church, Gudja
The Archpresbyterial and Archmatrix Church of the Assumption of Mary also simply known as St Mary's Parish Church is a Baroque Roman Catholic parish church serving the village of Gudja, in Malta. History The parish of Bir Miftuħ, part of present-day Gudja, was one of the medieval parishes mentioned in the report by Bishop Senatore de Mello in 1436. The parish church was that of St Mary's Bir Miftuħ. After the population of the village grew it eventually moved away from the medieval centre. Consequently, the present Parish church of St Mary was built in 1656 on plans by Thomas Dingli. Construction was completed by 1666. The church was consecrated on December 11, 1785. In 1858 a third bell tower was added. In fact it is the only church in Malta with three bell towers. The third tower differs from the two original baroque towers. It was built in the Neoclassical style on plans by William Baker, hence the tower's name as the William Baker Tower.
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Gudja
Gudja is a village in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 as of March 2017. The village is located on high grounds, south of the capital Valletta. It is administered by the Gudja Local Council. A number of schools, clubs, public gardens and recreation places are found around the village. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, evident from remains still ''in situ''. Scarce Punic-Roman towers in Malta, Punic remains were found in an area known as Xlejli Tower, Xlejli, within the village. Several remains of the Roman period are scattered in the whereabouts, particularly the Ħal Resqun Catacombs. The area was inhabited during the Arab and subsequent medieval periods, and the settling found today dates to the Order of St. John. The centre of the village further developed during the British period, after which a number of modern neighbourhoods were built. The village has a concentration of churches, some dating to the medieva ...
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Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two official languages are Maltese language, Maltese and English language, English. The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the EU by both area and population. It was also the first World Heritage Site, World Heritage City in Europe to become a European Capital of Culture in 2018. With a population of about 542,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, tenth-smallest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population density, ninth-most densely populated. Various sources consider the country to consist of a single urban region, for which it is often described as a city-state. Malta has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, during the Mesolith ...
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Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upo ...
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Assumption Of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was raised to Eternal life (Christianity), eternal life without bodily death. The equivalent belief in the Eastern Christianity is the Dormition of the Mother of God or the "Falling Asleep of the Mother of God". The word 'assumption' derives from the Latin word , meaning 'taking up'. Pope Pius XII expressed in his encyclical ''Munificentissimus Deus'' the hope that the belief in the bodily assumption of the virgin Mary into heaven "will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective", while the Catechism of the Catholic Church adds: "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Chri ...
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Parish Church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events. The Church architecture, church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented. Catholic Church Each diocese (administrative unit, headed by a bishop) is divided into parishes. Normally, a parish consists of all Catholics living within its geographically defined area. Within a diocese, there can also be overlapping parishes for Catholics belonging to a particular rite, language, nationality, or community. Each parish has its own central church called the parish church, ...
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Baroque Architecture
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestantism, Protestant church with a new architecture that inspired surprise and awe. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675), when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Bavaria and Austria. In the Late Baroque period (1675–1750), it reached as far as Russia, the Ottoman Baroque architecture, Ottoman Empire and the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish and Portuguese colonization of the Americas, Portuguese colonies in Latin America. In about 1730, an even more elaborately decorative variant called Rococo appeared and flourished in Central Europe. Baroque architects took the basic elements of Renaissance architecture, including domes and colonnades, ...
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Limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science), crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Limestone forms when these minerals Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly Dolomite (rock), dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral Dolomite (mine ...
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Archdiocese Of Malta
The Archdiocese of Malta ( Malti: ''Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta'') is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Malta. History Tradition claims that St. Paul the Apostle established the diocese of Malta in the year 60 A.D when he ordained the Roman governor, Saint Publius, as the first bishop of Malta and saint. The Diocese of Malta was made a suffragan diocese to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of PalermoMalta History
by a of on 10 July 1156 and confirmed by



Parish Church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events. The Church architecture, church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented. Catholic Church Each diocese (administrative unit, headed by a bishop) is divided into parishes. Normally, a parish consists of all Catholics living within its geographically defined area. Within a diocese, there can also be overlapping parishes for Catholics belonging to a particular rite, language, nationality, or community. Each parish has its own central church called the parish church, ...
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St Mary's Chapel, Bir Miftuħ
The Chapel of St Mary () is a medieval chapel located in Bir Miftuħ, limits of Gudja, Malta. History The Chapel of St Mary was built some time in the fifteenth-century, most probably in around 1430. In 1436, the chapel was mentioned as one of the 12 existing parishes by Bishop Senatore de Mello; it is believed to have existed long before that. It was not in the village centre, but mainly covered the areas of Gudja, Ħal Kirkop, Ħal Safi, Mqabba, Ħal Tarxien, Ħal Luqa, Ħal Farruġ and Birżebbuġa. The chapel stands freely and has a rectangular plan which measures about eleven by fourteen metres. Having said that, it was originally built in the shape of a cross. In 1512, the rear end of the chapel was demolished and the stones were used in the construction of the present church. It also had six doors though only two remain. The church served as parish church until 1676 when the present church was built. A belfry was added in the 16th century. On the arrival of the Kn ...
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Pietro Gagliardi
Pietro Gagliardi (9 August 1809 – 19 September 1890) was an Italian painter and architect, who decorated many churches and palaces in Rome and throughout Italy. Biography Gagliardi was born in Rome on 9 August 1809 to Francesco (of Campania) and Angela Zucchi (of Rome). He studied architecture under Professor Francesco Lanci, but after the death of his brother Giovanni, a painter, he directed his attentions to painting. He studied in the Accademia di San Luca, including under such masters as Tommaso Minardi. He partook in school competitions, winning second place in 1827 and the medal of encouragement in 1828. He worked primarily in Rome, and his studio was located in Palazzo Giustiniani in Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi. His first major commission dates to 1834, when he decorated the chapel of San Sebastiano in Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati for Prince Francesco Borghese Aldobrandini. By the 1840s, he had established himself as a preeminent painter of sacred art and was a ...
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Vincenzo Dimech
Vincenzo Dimech (29 June 1768 – 2 February 1831) was a Maltese people, Maltese sculptor. He is best known for his religious sculptures, which include the titular statues of Gudja and Floriana. He also sculpted monuments or architectural features in Valletta and Corfu. Biography Dimech was born in Valletta on 29 June 1768, as the son of Francesco Dimech and his wife Siniforosa née Pace. He was baptized at the Basilica of St Dominic, Valletta, Porto Salvo Church. Dimech was the cousin of Mariano Gerada, another sculptor. At a young age, he learnt about design and sculpture at his father's studio. He later studied at the Scuola delle Belle Arte in Naples. By around 1806, he was a professor of Architecture and Sculpture at the School of Design at the University of Malta. Dimech worked on various religious statues, monuments and other sculptures, many of them in Maltese globigerina limestone. He exhibited some of his works in international exhibitions. His work caught the attention ...
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