Travel back to Għarb in the 1600s! Spotlight on Gozo’s second oldest parish church
Għarb, the locality found at the westernmost point of the island of Gozo, was established as an independent parish all the way back in 1679 by Bishop Michael Molina. Ta' Pinu is the first church that comes to most people's minds when they think of Għarb, but the well-known church is actually not the village parish church.
The Parish Church and Collegiate Basilica itself, named ‘Basilica of the Visitation’, was built in 1699, with an elegant facade design similar to Francesco Borromini’s Sant Agnese in Agone in Piazza Navona in Rome. In fact, it is considered to be one of the most architecturally perfect churches in Gozo and is listed as a building of cultural heritage on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
The altarpiece, created by Gian-Nikol Buhagiar, depicts the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth, giving the parish its title. The church became the second Collegiate of Gozo with a chapter of canons that sung the Holy Office daily in 1774. It was elevated to a minor basilica in 1967, almost two centuries after it was built.
Għarb celebrates its village feast this Sunday 7th July, with celebrations centred around the statue being brought out of the church starting earlier this week. Other festivities will include a fireworks display and a procession accompanied by
Have you ever visited the Għarb parish church?