Rotunda of Mosta
{{Infobox church
| name = Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady
| native_name = Santwarju Bażilika ta' Santa Marija
| native_name_lang = mt
| image = 300px
| caption = View of the Rotunda of Mosta
| coordinates = {{coord|35|54|36.3|N|14|25|33.2|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = Mosta, Malta
| denomination = Roman Catholic
| website = [http://mostachurch.com/lang/en mostachurch.com]
| founded date = {{circa}} 1614
| dedication = Assumption of Mary
| dedicated date = 15 October 1871
| consecrated date =
| status = Minor basilica, Parish church
| functional status = Active
| architect = Giorgio Grognet de Vassé
| style = Neoclassical
| groundbreaking = 30 May 1833
| completed date = Early 1860s
| length = {{convert|75|m|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|55|m|abbr=on}}
| diameter = {{Cvt|130|ft}}
| dome quantity = 1
| spire quantity = 2
| materials = Limestone
| archdiocese = Malta
| logo = Mosta Parish logo.jpg
| logosize = 150px
}}
The Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady ({{langx|mt|Santwarju Bażilika ta' Santa Marija}}), commonly known as the Rotunda of Mosta ({{langx|mt|Ir-Rotunda tal-Mosta}}) or the Mosta Dome, is a Roman Catholic parish church and basilica in Mosta, Malta, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was built between 1833 and the 1860s to neoclassical designs of Giorgio Grognet de Vassé, on the site of an earlier Renaissance church which had been built around 1614 to designs of Tommaso Dingli.
The design of the church is based on the Pantheon in Rome, has the third-largest unsupported dome in the world, and is Malta's largest church. The church narrowly avoided destruction during World War II when on 9 April 1942 a German aerial bomb pierced the dome and fell into the church during Mass, but failed to explode.
History
Pietro Dusina recorded Mosta as a parish in his 1575 pastoral visit; the town actually became a parish in 1608. Plans to construct a new church began soon afterwards, and the church was built in around 1614 to designs attributed to the Renaissance architect Tommaso Dingli.{{cite journal|last1=Thake|first1=Conrad|title=Influences of the Spanish Plateresque on Maltese Ecclesiastical Architecture|journal=Proceedings of History Week|date=2013|page=67|url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Proceedings%20of%20History%20Week/PHW2013/05s.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728171614/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Proceedings%20of%20History%20Week/PHW2013/05s.pdf|archivedate=28 July 2016}} This church was commonly called Ta' Ziri.{{cite web|last1=Scerri|first1=John|title=Mosta|url=http://www.malta-canada.com/churches-chapels/Mosta.htm|website=malta-canada.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221120504/http://www.malta-canada.com/churches-chapels/Mosta.htm|archivedate=21 February 2014|url-status=dead}}
By the 1830s the town's population had become too large for the church. Giorgio Grognet de Vassé proposed rebuilding the church on a neoclassical design based on the Pantheon in Rome. Opposed by Bishop Francesco Saverio Caruana, the design was approved, and construction of the church began on 30 May 1833.{{cite journal|last=Graff|first=Philippe|title=La Valette: une ville nouvelle du XVIe siècle et son évolution jusqu'à nos jours|url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0997-1327_1994_num_71_1_1641|language=French|publisher=Publications de l'Université de Provence|journal=Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Méditerranée: Le carrefour maltais|date=1994|volume=162|issue=1|page=159|issn=2105-2271}}
File:Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in sacristy - Il-Miraklu tal-Bomba 01 ies.jpg
The new church was built around the old church, which remained in use throughout the course of construction. The residents of Mosta helped in building the church, taking part in construction work on Sundays and public holidays. Since Grognet had never received any formal architectural training, he received consultation services from an architect of the Sammut family.{{cite news|title=200-year-old History in an old musty archive|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2012-03-11/news/200-year-old-history-in-an-old-musty-archive-307055/|work=The Malta Independent|date=11 March 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304202125/http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2012-03-11/news/200-year-old-history-in-an-old-musty-archive-307055/|archivedate=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
The rotunda took 28 years to build, being completed in the early 1860s.{{cite book|last1=Schiavone|first1=Michael J.|title=Dictionary of Maltese Biographies Vol. 2 G–Z|date=2009|publisher=Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza|location=Pietà|isbn=9789993291329|pages=989–990}} The old church was demolished in 1860, and the new church did not need to be consecrated since the site had remained a place of worship throughout the course of construction. The church was officially dedicated on 15 October 1871.{{cite web|title=Mosta|url=http://thechurchinmalta.org/en/posts/631/mosta|website=The Church in Malta|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308051157/http://thechurchinmalta.org/en/posts/631/mosta|archivedate=8 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
In a bombing by the Nazi air force on 9 April 1942, duringthe Siege of Malta in World War II, a bomb pierced the dome and entered the church.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The bomb did not explode, and a Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal unit defused it and dumped it into the sea off the west coast of Malta. This event was interpreted as a miracle by the inhabitants, and the casing of an identical bomb is now displayed in the sacristy at the back of the church.{{Cite book|last=Lucas|first=Laddie.|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002564100|title=Malta, the thorn in Rommel's side: six months that turned the war|date=1992|publisher=S. Paul|isbn=978-0-09-174411-3|location=London|pages=48}}{{cite web|title=Mosta: Myths and Facts|url=https://maltagc70.wordpress.com/1779-2/|website=Malta: War Diary|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304211532/https://maltagc70.wordpress.com/1779-2/|archivedate=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last1=Dillon|first1=Paddy|title=Walking in Malta: 33 routes on Malta, Gozo and Comino|date=2012|publisher=Cicerone Press Limited|isbn=9781849656481|page=137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhAe82O1mFAC&pg=PA137}}
On 2 May 1983, taxi driver Carmelo Aquilina deliberately drove a Mercedes car into the Rotunda following a bet. He drove up the steps of the parvis, broke down the main doorway, and stopped within the church close to the altar. Aquilina was arrested and received a three-month prison sentence while his driving licence was suspended.{{cite news |last1=Cilia |first1=Johnathan |title=#TBT: That Time A Taxi Driver Lost A Bet And Rammed His Car Into The Mosta Dome |url=https://lovinmalta.com/lifestyle/history/tbt-that-time-a-taxi-driver-lost-a-bet-and-rammed-his-car-into-the-mosta-dome/ |work=Lovin Malta |date=17 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622165846/https://lovinmalta.com/lifestyle/history/tbt-that-time-a-taxi-driver-lost-a-bet-and-rammed-his-car-into-the-mosta-dome/ |archive-date=22 June 2021}}
In 2015 the parish asked the Vatican to be reclassified to the status of a basilica.{{cite news|title=Mosta parish to apply to Vatican to be re-classified to Basilica status|url=http://www.tvm.com.mt/en/news/il-parrocca-tal-mosta-se-tapplika-mal-vatikan-biex-issir-bazilika/|work=TVM|date=15 August 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817005246/http://www.tvm.com.mt/en/news/il-parrocca-tal-mosta-se-tapplika-mal-vatikan-biex-issir-bazilika/|archivedate=17 August 2015|url-status=dead}} The church was elevated to a minor basilica on 29 July 2018.{{cite web |last1=Demicoli |first1=Keith |title=Se tingħata t-titlu ta' Bażilika nhar il-Ħadd li ġej |url=https://www.tvm.com.mt/mt/news/se-tinghata-t-titlu-ta-bazilika-nhar-il-hadd-li-gej/ |publisher=TVM |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810000300/https://www.tvm.com.mt/mt/news/se-tinghata-t-titlu-ta-bazilika-nhar-il-hadd-li-gej/ |archivedate=10 August 2018 |language=Maltese |date=26 July 2018}}{{Cite news |last=Vella |first=Sandro |date=10 March 2019 |title=Mosta Rotunda elevated to the dignity of minor basilica |pages=54–55 |work=The Sunday Times of Malta |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/52394/1/Mosta_Rotunda_elevated_to_the_dignity_of_minor_basilica.PDF |via=um.edu.mt}}
Architecture
The Rotunda of Mosta is built in the neoclassical style,{{cite book|last1=Rudolf|first1=Uwe Jens|last2=Berg|first2=Warren G.|title=Historical Dictionary of Malta|date=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810873902|page=31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwuUOVkaMB0C&pg=PA31}} and its structure is based on the Pantheon in Rome.{{cite journal|journal=La Diocesi|title=Le chiese di Malta (con.)|first=G.|last=Gauci. D.|volume=3|date=1918|url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/La%20Diocesi/La%20Diocesi.%202(1917-1918)/14.pdf|page=278}} Its façade has a portico with six Ionic columns, which is flanked by two bell towers. Being a rotunda, the church has a circular plan with walls about {{convert|9.1|m|abbr=on}} thick supporting a dome with an internal diameter of {{Cvt|130|ft}}.{{cite book|last1=Cauchi|first1=Raymond|title=The Mosta Rotunda: Short History & Guide|date=1988|publisher=Cauchi's Emporium|location=Mosta|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DlG0AAAAIAAJ|page=79}} At one time, the dome was the third-largest in the world. The church's interior contains eight niches, including a bay containing the main entrance and a deep apse with the main altar.{{cite book|last1=MacDonald|first1=William Lloyd|title=The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny|date=2002|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674010192|page=156|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vjKDS_XoPXQC&pg=PA156}}
Before the church was constructed, there was some opposition to Grognet's design, since some regarded a Roman temple as an unsuitable model for a Catholic church building.{{cite book|last=Mahoney|first=Leonardo|date=1996|title=5,000 Years of Architecture in Malta |publisher=Valletta Publishing|pages=216–221|isbn=9789990958157}} Others praised the design, and an 1839 book written while the church was being built described it as "certainly the most magnificent, extensive and solid modern building" in Malta and said "when finished, [the church] will be an ornament to the Island, will immortalize the architect, and draw towards the casal every visitor to Malta."{{cite book|last1=MacGill|first1=Thomas|title=A hand book, or guide, for strangers visiting Malta|date=1839|publisher=Luigi Tonna|location=Malta|pages=124–126|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ8NAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA124}} The design was well-received upon completion, and it is regarded as Grognet's masterpiece.
File:Rotonda de Mosta, isla de Malta, Malta, 2021-08-25, DD 85-102 HDR PAN.jpg
File:Rotonda de Mosta, isla de Malta, Malta, 2021-08-25, DD 109-111 HDR.jpg
See also
{{Portal|Catholicism|History|Malta}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|last1=Cauchi|first1=Raymond|title=The Mosta Rotunda: Short History & Guide|date=1988|publisher=Cauchi's Emporium|location=Mosta|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DlG0AAAAIAAJ}}
External links
- [http://mostachurch.com/lang/en Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124025840/http://mostachurch.com/lang/en |date=2016-11-24 }}
{{commons|position=left}}
{{Parish churches in Malta and Gozo}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1860s establishments in Malta
Category:Basilica churches in Malta
Category:19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta
Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in the 1860s
Category:Limestone churches in Malta
Category:Church buildings with domes