Churches & Chapels to Visit in Gozogozovillageholidays.com /gozo-blog/churches-chapels-to-visit-in-gozo

The beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta has long had a reputation as a fantastic vacationdestination. However, regions of this outstanding archipelago such as Gozo have much more tooffer than a warm climate and an attractive shoreline. For example, Malta is home to some of themost intriguing and beautiful churches in the world, with Gozo boasting an impressive number ofthese buildings.

Below is a small, but varied list of Churches and Chapels found in Gozo.

Rotunda Church in Xewkija, Gozo

The village of the Rotunda Church in Xewkija was the first Gozo hamlet to be elevated to villagestatus. Its name is Arabic and Maltese and means “place of many thistles.” The mammothRotunda Parish Church dominates Xewkija Village and is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. OnNovember 27th, 1678, it became the first parish on the outskirts of Gozo.

The community was primarily made up of fishermen and farmers, many of whom made sacrificesto build the earlier churches. In 1952, descendants of these fishermen and farmers boundthemselves to a weekly offering to raise the impressive rotunda. The dome, which measures 27

meters in diameter and 75 meters high, is one of Europe's largest. Graceful and well-proportioned,the Cathedral's interior features all Gafà’s characteristics: a carved attic with high vaults, richentablature, a semicircular apse and tall pilasters raised on high bases.

Citadella Chapel or St Joseph Chapel

The Citadella Chapel was built in 1625 during the munificence of Bishop Baldassare Cagliaress,and according to historians individuals flocked to the chapel to express their devotion. The churchfeature a simple façade with a traditional arched ceiling and round window. Bishop Cagliares–whoalso constructed the Palazzo Cagliares–donated an ornate altarpiece to the chapel, whichrepresented the famous flight of Saint Joseph to Egypt. This altarpiece is believed to be the work ofthe late Filippo Paladino, a Mannerist artist. However, a little known fact concerning the painting isthat the original now resides in the Cathedral Museum and the one now seen in the CitadellaChapel is a copy that was designed in 1980.

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Santa Marija Chapel of Comino

Situated by Santa Marija Bay in the village of Comina, the presence of the Santa Marija Chapel ofComino was first noted on a navigational map in the mid-13th century. The church wasconstructed in 1618, at the same time the Santa Marija Tower was built. It was enlarged twice, in1667 and 1716. That year the small number of farmers who resided on the island dedicated thechurch to the Virgin Mary's return from Egypt, which is regarded as a joyous moment in her life.Although the architecture of the church is simplistic, it features a very ornate altar and a uniquedesign in place of a traditional steeple. Three window-like carvings, each of which contained a bell,rest above the entryway on the Chapel's roof, with the largest of the three bells in the center.

Nadur Chapel & Basilica

Gozo’s most populated village, Nadur expands over a plateau from where a person can seealmost the entire island of Gozo. Its name is derived from the ancient Maltese dialect and it meansto keep guard and observe at length. Nadur Church is dedicated to Saints Paul and Peter. InDecember 1760, its foundation stone was laid, but the aisles and facade were built by the famousMaltese architect Francesco Saverio Sciortino at the beginning of the 20th century.

Bishop Davide Cocco-Palmeri established the parish of Nadur on April 28th, 1688 and on June26th, 1967, the church was awarded the title of Basilica. The Chapel is entirely covered in marbleand even features a marble pulpit. The paintings on the ceiling in the dome portray episodes fromthe lives of Saints Paul and Peter and are the work of Maltese Lazzaro Pisani.

Ghasri Chapel

Ghasri, the smallest village of Gozo, is home to the Ghasri Village Church, which was entirelydesigned by Dun Guzepp Diacono, a local priest. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century,when its foundation stone was laid on September 6th, 1903. On January 9th,1916, it wasdedicated to Christ the Savior. However, it was not until December 16th, 1921, that it wasestablished as a parish church by Bishop Giovanni Marija Camilleri. The church features both alarge and small altar, both of which are adorned with six ornate candlesticks made of gold andsilver, respectively. The front of the church is adorned by two beautiful carved statues of Christ theSavior and it features two traditional bell towers that stand on either side of an ornate domeshaped roof.

Ghajnsielem Church

Located in the Pjazza tad-Dehra in the center of Ghajnsielem Village is the beautiful, Gothic styleChurch that bears the same name as the village. Its foundation stone was laid on September 14th,1924 and it was built by Ugo Mallia , a renowned architect. It was blessed on August 27th, 1978,and consecrated on August 18, 1989. The church has a long and interesting history, includingmultiple delays that occurred due to events surrounding the Great War, as well as severalaccidents that took place around that same time. During one such event, master Mason Toni Vellafell from the construction site and suffered fractures in both legs. Another incident that slowed thecompletion of the Chapel was when the aforementioned architect, Ugo Mallia, unexpectedlyresigned from the project, informing Parish Priest Xerri that he was passing the task to ArchitectGuze D' Amato, although his reasons for doing so are not known. D'Amato died while constructingthe church and was replaced by Joseph Mizzi from San Lawrenz and later, Joe Ellul Vincenti fromSliem, who finished the construction. The Chapel's most notable features are its impressivesteeple and ornate Captain's walk.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fontana

Fontana–the Italian word for spring–derived its name from a lovely spring at the path leading to il-Ghajn il-Kbira, also called Xlendi, both of which stand for “the large spring.” It was this spring thatinitially drew residents to the area, and in the 16th century an arched shelter was constructed overthe spring for their convenience. Most of the fishermen lived in Fontana and worked from thevillage of Xlendi. They eventually began setting aside part of their earnings for the purpose ofbuilding a church. This took place in the late 1800s, and the foundation stone of the Sacred HeartCatholic Church in Fontana was laid on January 29, 1892. In 1905, the Chapel was dedicated tothe Sacred Heart of Jesus. Giovanni Maria Camilleri consecrated the church in that same year andin March of 1911 it became a Fontana Parish Church. Doors of the church feature ornate carvings,and a large statue of Jesus the Savior is located on the church's second floor exterior. The steeplefeatures both a clock and a large bell.

Kercem Chapel

Kercem is the Maltese village closest to Rabat and was named after a family living in the region inthe 15th century. Kercem was once renowned for the Feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great,which took place every year on March 12th. During the festival each year, a parade of devotebelievers would make their way from the Kercem Cathedral to an old church of Saint Gregory andlater to the parish church of the village. Prior to marriage, Gozitan bridegrooms often promisedtheir brides that they would take them to this festival each year. Kercem Chapel was built as avillage church sometime between 1846 and 1851, although the exact date of its construction isunknown. Its foundation stone was laid at the commencement of the 1846 procession during theFeast of Saint Gregory. It was consecrated in 1912 on October 22nd. On March 10th, it wasestablished as a parish church by Bishop Pietro Pace. The Chapel's impressive dome andbeautiful painted statue of the Holy Mother are just a few of its most outstanding features.

Church or Chapel

Whilst writing this guide to Churches, Chapels in Gozo. I found multiple references to thesebuildings as both Churches and as Chapels. I have tried to remain as accurate as possible andreferred to gozodiocese.org. I apologise in advance if you referr to a building as a Chapel, Churchand I called it otherwise.

"A church and a chapel differ in that a church refers to an established congregation over a widegeographical area while a chapel refers to a small place, such as a building that is used forworship. Church may, however, also be used to refer to a place of worship."

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