The Rotunda of Mosta, officially the Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, is Malta’s largest and most iconic church. Built between 1833 and the 1860s on the site of a 1614 Renaissance church, its design was inspired by the Roman Pantheon and developed by self-taught architect Giorgio Grognet de Vassé. Its neoclassical structure features a monumental unsupported dome, 40 meters in diameter, once the third largest in the world.
On April 9, 1942, during World War II, a German bomb pierced the dome during Mass, attended by about 300 people. The bomb failed to detonate, an event still considered miraculous by the locals. A replica of the bomb is displayed inside the church under the title “Il-Miraklu tal-Bomba”. In 1975, the titular painting of the Assumption of Mary was canonically crowned, and in 2018 the church was elevated to the status of minor basilica by Pope Francis.
The circular church features Ionic columns, thick walls, eight internal niches, and a majestic apse. Its architectural grandeur and the wartime miracle make the Rotunda a major religious and cultural landmark in Malta, especially celebrated on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption.
- Address
1, Triq il-Kbita, Mosta - Web
https://mostachurch.com/?lang=en - Visiting Hours
Monday to Friday from 9:30 until 18:00. Saturday from 9:30 until 16:30. Sunday from 12:00 until 17:00 - What to see
Dome, shelter, Il-Miraklu tal-Bomba
