The Church of Our Lady of the Snows, locally known as Madonna tas-Silġ, overlooks Marsaxlokk Bay in southeastern Malta. Rebuilt in 1833 on the site of a 1650 chapel, it owes its restoration to the piety of Marchioness Angiolina Muscat Cassia Dorell. The title “Our Lady of the Snows” comes from the miraculous August snowfall on Rome’s Esquiline Hill in the 4th century, which inspired the dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major. That same devotion spread across Christendom and reached Malta through this small rural church, long frequented by farmers and fishermen.
Nearby, the Tas-Silġ archaeological site reveals an extraordinary religious history. Originally a Neolithic temple complex, it later became a Phoenician sanctuary to Astarte, a Roman temple of Juno, and finally, in the 5th century, a Byzantine Christian basilica, likely dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This uninterrupted spiritual use over millennia makes the Tas-Silġ area one of the most significant sacred landscapes in Malta. The church remains under Carmelite care today and continues to reflect Malta’s deep-rooted Marian devotion that has persisted since early Christianity.
- Address
Triq Delimara, Marsaxlokk, Malta - Web
None - Visiting Hours
Unknown - What to see
Archaeological remains
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