 |
| San Ġorġ & The Grandma |
Today, The Grandma and her friends are visiting Rabat, the capital of Gozo, also known as Il-Belt Victoria. She is very interested in visiting St. George's Basilica because she's a great fan of Saint George's history, San Ġorġ in Maltese.
Victoria, in Maltese Il-Belt Victoria, meaning the city Victoria, also known among the native Maltese as Rabat, which is the name of the old town centre, or by its title Città Victoria, is the capital city of Gozo, the second largest island of Malta.
The area around the town, situated on a hill near the centre of the island, has been settled since Neolithic times. Victoria is the name given on 10 June 1887 by the British government on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. However, many Gozitans, mainly older Gozitans, still often refer to it by the name Rabat. It is usually known as Rabat, Gozo to distinguish it from the town of Rabat on the main island of Malta.
More information: Visit Malta
In the heart of Rabat lies the Cittadella, formerly known as il Castello, which has been the centre of activity of the island since possibly Neolithic times, but is known to be first fortified during the Bronze Age c. 1500 BC. It was later developed by the Phoenicians and continued into becoming a complex Acropolis by Roman times.
 |
| Claire & Joseph in the Citadella, Rabat |
The north side of the Citadel dates back to the Aragonese domination period. The south flank, overlooking Rabat, was re-constructed under the Knights of St. John, namely between 1599 and 1603, after Ottomans invaded the city in 1551. The massive defensive stone walls of the fortifications rise above the town and were built by the Knights to protect the village communities from foraging corsairs attempting to take slaves and threatened invasion of Moslem forces fighting Christendom. Within its walls lies a fine 17th century baroque Cathedral designed by Lorenzo Gafà, the Maltese architect who also built the Cathedral of Mdina. It is said that it lies on the site where a Roman temple dedicated to Juno once stood. It is most famous for the remarkable trompe l'oeil painting on its ceiling, which depicts the interior of a dome that was never built.
More information: UNESCO
St. George's Basilica, which covers the whole of Rabat, caters for a little over half of the population of Rabat, as it is a personal parish, as opposed to other parishes who are territorial, operating in the city of Rabat. Its parish church dedicated to St George has the status of a Basilica.
 |
| The Grandma, Tina, Joseph & Claire at San Ġorġ |
This church was built in the 1670s and suffered severe damage in the earthquake of 1693. A new façade was built in 1818. The dome and the aisles are of recent construction in 1930s and 1940s.
There are several works of art in this church which include the painting of the dome and ceiling by Gian Battista Conti of Rome and other paintings and sculptures by Mattia Preti, Giuseppe d'Arena, Stefano Erardi, Alessio Erardi, Francesco V. Zahra, Giuseppe Calì, and contemporary Alfred Camilleri Cauchi and John L. Grima.
The parish originated in Byzantine times from the time of Emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century. The original church was the main Roman pagan temple of Gozo which had been converted by a Greek missionary into a Christian church dedicated to Saint George. The Roman temple stood at the site of the present church.
The church is also documented in manuscript sources in c. 1250, when it is recorded functioning as a parish church. St George's was also listed as one of the parishes in Gozo where indulgences could be obtained on a papal bull by Pope Nicholas V for the Holy Year of 1450. Considering the fact that the parish church originated during the Byzantine period, until 1575, the liturgy in St George's parish church was celebrated in the Byzantine Rite rather than the Latin Rite
 |
| The Grandma & Claire in San Ġorġ Church |
It was the last church to celebrate the Byzantine liturgy in the island until the transition to the Roman rite. In 1511 a scriptura apostolica declared that the church of St George was the parish church of Gozo, thus covering all the population of Gozo. The church was reconstructed again in 1583 and 1598.
The titular statue of St George was carved from solid wood by Pietro Paolo Azzopardi in 1838 and is the first titular statue on the island. The area over which the church is built is of considerable archaeological interest, with evidence of activity dating back to at least to the Roman period.
The parish celebrates two feasts during the year: 23 April, the official date celebrating the death of the martyr, and the third Sunday of July, when the solemn festivities in honour of Gozo's patron saint are held.
More information: Visit Malta
St. George is the Patron Saint of cavalry in all countries.
Robert Baden-Powell
No comments:
Post a Comment