A photo shared by the Church of St. John the Baptist - Xewkija Rotunda onto Facebook shows one of Malta’s largest churches ever being built.

The photo depicts the Xewkija native builders known as Guzepp Vella ‘tal-Malla’ and Zakkarija Cilia ‘tal-Gerrej’ placing the stones by hand and barefoot on the of the northern point of the church.

They were so high up that you could see many fields behind them in the distance.

The church started being built in the middle of the 20^th century on the plans of Maltese architect, Guze Damato. The church’s design was largely influenced by the Sant Maria della Salute church in Venezia but on a much larger scale.

Xewkija’s Rotunda is dedicated to St John the Baptist and took around 26 years to build, with the first stone being laid in 1952. It was then consecrated in 1978.

It also has the third highest unsupported dome in the whole world.