Annunciation Church, Mdina on:
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The Church of the Annunciation also known as The Carmelite Church is a rich 
During the French occupation the church was ransacked by the French and valuables stolen to fund Napoleon's wars. However, it is said that on one particular occasion, as the French were on their way to steal the church's damask, some rebels locked the church doors and a boy went up to the spire to sound the alarm. Consequently, this event gave birth to the resistance against the French.
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
priory church of the Priory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel located in Mdina
Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...
, 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 ...
.
History
Records mention that on the site of the present church stood an earlier church dedicated to theNativity of Mary
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern Biblical canon does not record Mary's birth. The ...
. Other sources mention that the chapel was dedicated to the Virgin of the Fortress (della Rocca). The chapel and the surrounding area was given to the Carmelites in the 1650s. The church was built between 1660 and 1675 on the designs of Mederico Blondel des Croisettes.
After the earthquake of 1693 destroyed many important buildings, notably the medieval cathedral of St Paul, the cathedral chapter moved to the Carmelite church until 1702 when the new cathedral was built. Moreover, the church also served as the parish church during this time.
During the French occupation the church was ransacked by the French and valuables stolen to fund Napoleon's wars. However, it is said that on one particular occasion, as the French were on their way to steal the church's damask, some rebels locked the church doors and a boy went up to the spire to sound the alarm. Consequently, this event gave birth to the resistance against the French.
Works of art
The interior is enriched with baroque sculpture and paintings by notable artists such asMattia Preti
Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John.
Life
Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...
, Stefano Erardi, Michele Bellanti and Giuseppe Calì. The ornately carved and gilded wooden frame around the titular painting is the work of Pietro Paolo Troisi, and the processional statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order.
The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...
the work of Maltese sculptor Andrea Imbroll.
See also
*Catholic Church in 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 yea ...
References
{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Malta Carmelite churches in Malta 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Mdina National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands