Rotunda of Mosta, Mosta, Malta - SpottingHistory.com

The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, commonly known as the Rotunda of Mosta, is the third largest unsupported dome in the world and the third largest in Europe.

Built in the 19th century on the site of a previous church, it was designed by the Maltese architect Giorgio Grognet de Vassé. Its dome is among the largest in the world, with an internal diameter of 37.2 metres. the rotunda walls are 9.1 metres thick (necessary to support the weight of the dome). The rotunda dome is the third-largest church dome in Europe and the ninth largest in the world.

Grongnet's plans were based on the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in May 1833 and was completed in the 1860s. The original church was left in place while the Rotunda was built around it, allowing the local people to have a place of worship while the new church was being built. The church was officially consecrated on the 15 of October 1871.

On April 9, 1942, during an World War II air-raid, a 500 kg Luftwaffe bomb pierced the dome and fell among a congregation of more than 300 people awaiting early evening mass. It did not explode. The same type of bomb as pierced the dome is now on display (the original was dumped at sea) at the back of the church in the Sacristy.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Chris Rendell (3 years ago)
This place is incredible. So stunning and peaceful, full of history that you just don't realise is there until you see it. This is a must visit location.

Teenie Ribenie (3 years ago)
Beautiful church. Interesting dome. Full of interesting statues, pictures, video and a replica of the WW2 bomb that came through the dome and failed to explode. Well worth a visit.

Con Stroulios (3 years ago)
This amazing historic church is fascinating, during g the war a bomb was dropped on it, with a full service happening, and it didn't explode. Everyone inside was safe, no injuries no deaths, if this is not amazing, who knows??? Worth the trip and the walk around!!!

Marija Stojkovic (3 years ago)
I like this church ... it is very big and beautiful ... with the special energy . The bomb bomb is still there ... didn't exploded.. what is a God miracle ...

Maria Petrova (3 years ago)
Worth the trip from Valletta . The dome is very beautiful and impressive. Definitely something to experience . Small fee to get in and there is also a WWII shelter to check out.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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