The statue of St. Dominic, found in Valletta’s Porto Salvo Basilica, is one of the oldest statues in Malta. It was first mentioned in 1678, but in all that time no one has managed to determine who sculpted the Baroque creation.
Agatha Grima, who helped to restore the statue in 2017, carried out research which led her to believe that this could have been the work of a Spanish artist – but that is all.
Before the recent restoration efforts, the statue was restored in the 1960s by Professor Oscar Testa. Prior to his intervention, the statue was known to have a darker complexion and facial hair, as opposed to the lighter hair and skin tone that it has today.
But what about the church?
The Basilica is one of the three parish churches in Valletta, built on land donated by Grand Master Pierre de Monte and based on plans drafted by Girolamo Cassar. Cassar was also responsible for other important buildings in Valletta such as St John’s Co-Cathedral and the Grandmaster’s Palace.
Dominican friars had moved to Valletta from Birgu, and wanted to serve the community, so following the Grand Master’s donation, the parish was established in 1571 and the building was finished by 1585.
Unfortunately, a 1693 earthquake - which affected Southern Italy, Sicily and Malta – left the church with extensive damage, and it was declared unsafe and demolished in 1780.
Following the demolition of the original church, a bigger church was built to replace it on the same site. It was built in a mixture of styles by Anton Cachia and his overseer, master mason Joseph Saliba.
The church was finished and blessed in 1815, being declared a Minor Basilica the following year and consecrated in 1889.
What’s inside?
Apart from the statue, one can find many works of art inside the church.
There are paintings by artists such as Peter Paul Caruana, Rafael Caruana, Joseph Hyzler and Calì, which embellish the church’s interior and ceiling.
An interesting artifact present in the church is a relic of St Prosperous Martyr, which was brought over from San Ġwann in 1758.
A miracle and a robbery
The church has also been a victim of some strange robberies… and an attempt.
While the old church was being dismantled, a statue of the Ecce Homo is said to have been discovered inside a column. A robber tried to steal the silver stick held in the statue’s hand, but he couldn’t get it out and it ended up bent in place. However, the Father Superior took it out the next day with ease….at least that’s how the story goes.
Wooden alter candle holders worth approximately €2,000 were stolen from the church – and were found on the local online storefront maltapark.com.
Did you know any of this?
Kappa Vision/Facebook, Jacqueline Poggi/Flickr