The Church of St George is a 16th-century baroque

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 ...

parish church located in

Qormi Qormi ( mt, Ħal Qormi ; pronounced in the Qormi dialect), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), mak ...

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 ...

History

The parish of St George is one of the 12 parishes mentioned in the rollo of Bishop Senatore de Mello in 1436. The church structure was built three times. The original parish church was demolished and a larger one was built on the same site in the mid-15th century. The church was then reconstructed in a larger form around 1585. The dome was added in 1684 on designs by

Lorenzo Gafà Lorenzo Gafà (1639–1703) was a Maltese Baroque architect and sculptor. He designed many churches in the Maltese Islands, including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo. He was the younger bro ...

. The church was consecrated on May 6, 1731. The church was elevated to the status of Collegiate church on 30 June, 2019.

Works of art

The church is the home of the last work by

Mattia 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 ...

depicting the martyrdom of St George. In the background of this painting one can see a young St George on horseback in the act of killing the dragon to save the princess. The details is the same as the St george that Preti had executed for the Chapel of Aragon in St John’s Co-cathedral 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 ...

. It is also the home of another important work of art by Mattia Preti, depicting the Eternal Father. This church is also the custody of one of the few existing retables in Malta. It is a pala d'altare which dates to approximately the middle of the 15th century. This pala d'alatre consists of four different panels. The central panel depicting Our Lady of Sorrows. The other panels depicts St George, St Gregory, and Christ on the cross.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Parish churches in Malta and Gozo 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Qormi Baroque church buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic churches completed in 1585