The Mosta Dome

The Rotunda of Mosta was built through the middle of the nineteenth century, modelled loosely on the Pantheon, and paid for and largely built by the parishioners themselves, who worked on it around their own jobs. Its dome is enormous, among the largest unsupported domes in Europe, and it dominates the skyline of central Malta so completely that you see it from almost anywhere on the island. Inside, the effect is one of pale, calm space rather than baroque clutter, with the coffered dome curving overhead. A walkway now allows visitors up into the dome itself for the view down into the church and out over the island. The church's best-known story is a wartime one, when a bomb pierced the dome during a service and failed to explode, and a replica is displayed in the sacristy.

History

By the 1830s Mosta had outgrown its church of around 1614, and Giorgio Grognet de Vassé proposed a new one based on the Pantheon in Rome; work began on 30 May 1833, the new church rose around the old one, which stayed in use, and residents helped build it on Sundays and public holidays. The rotunda took 28 years and was dedicated on 15 October 1871 (Wikipedia, Rotunda of Mosta).

The main sights

• The dome from inside - the coffered interior curving above the rotunda.
• The dome walkway - the climb up into the structure for views inside and out.
• The facade and portico - the columned front on the town square.
• The sacristy display - the replica of the bomb that pierced the dome.

When to go

Year-round; it closes to visitors during Mass, so mornings on Sundays and feast days are not the time. The Mosta festa in August fills the town with fireworks and decoration. The dome walkway keeps its own more limited hours.

Good to know

It is a working parish church, so visits fit around services and the interior is plainer than Malta's baroque showpieces such as St John's in Valletta. Mosta itself is an ordinary modern town with traffic and little charm around the square. The dome walkway is a separate ticket and involves narrow stairs.

Nearby

Mdina and Rabat are a short ride west; Ta' Qali crafts village is nearby.

Key facts