The Church of the Immaculate Conception known also as Sarria Church is a

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 institut ...

Rotunda church in

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

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

The original chapel was built in 1585 with funds provided by the Knight Fra Martin Sarria Navarra. Following the devastation that the plague of 1675–76 brought on the country, Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner built in its place another church dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

as a sign of thanksgiving. The church was designed by prominent painter

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 ...

. It is vital to note that this was the only church designed by Preti. It was built under the direction of architect

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 brot ...

. The Sarria Church served as a temporary parish church for Floriana from 1942 to 1944, after the

St. Publius Parish Church The Saint Publius Parish Church (), also known as the Floriana Parish Church () is a Roman Catholic parish church in Floriana, Malta, dedicated to Saint Publius. It was constructed at several stages between the 18th and 20th centuries. History Th ...

was damaged by aerial bombardment.

Interior

The most precious possession of this church are the seven large canvases that surround the interior, painted by

. The altarpiece, also by Preti, depicts the

with angels sheltering their swords after defeating the plague of 1675–76.

References

External links

*{{Commonscatinline Round churches Floriana 1585 establishments in Europe 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta 16th-century establishments in Malta Plague churches

History

Interior

See also

References

External links