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98 years ago today, the dome of the Saint Paul’s Basilica in Rabat completely collapsed
Thankfully, nobody died.

Emma Galea

Exactly 98 years ago today, Rabat saw its beautiful dome at the Saint Paul Basilica collapse to the ground.

The dome first experienced damage in 1923 when an earthquake hit the Maltese islands. This was most probably due to the fact that the dome was too heavy for the walls built to support it.

Repair works were ongoing but a year later, in 1924 a storm accumulated over Rabat causing the dome to entirely collapse.

Thankfully no tragic deaths occurred. Nonetheless the collapse caused complete destruction or severe damage to many paintings, ceilings and altars.

In fact, the dome originally had a beautiful fresco painted by none other than Giuseppe Cali that unfortunately was lost in the collapse.

Thankfully the statue depicting the Immaculate Conception was out of its shrine and suffered little to no damage at all.

The next dome, the one that is seen today, was built shortly after and is now currently itself undergoing restoration.

Facebook/Kumitat Festi Esterni Corpus Domini u San Pawl

29th November 2022


Emma Galea
Written by
Emma Galea
Emma is a Gozitan writer who loves all things related to English literature and history. When not busy studying or writing you will either find her immersed in a fictional book or at the cinema trying to watch as many films as she possibly can!

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