Church Of St James, Valletta
History
The first church was built in 1612, but was later demolished to build a new baroque church between 1709 and 1710. Some unreliable sources have attributed the designs of the church to architect Giovanni Barbara. However, the architect was Romano Carapecchia, who designed the church in Italian baroque.
The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
Exterior of the church
The façade of the church includes pillars, niches, windows and baroque designs. The church is 2 stories high. Above the main door one can see a big window. Above it one can see the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Castile held by two angels with a seashell on top.
At one point in the 18th century the church's exterior was redesigned, by the known architect Romano Carapecchia, when it was given a Baroque character.
Interior of the church
The interior of the church is built on the form of an oval excluding the sanctuary of the church. The titular painting was done by Filippo Paladini. It depicts St James the Greater at the entrance of a cave holding a stick and an angel holding a palm leaf symbolizing his martyrdom. Below the titular painting one can see an oval painting depicting Our Lady of Sorrows. It is a copy of a Spanish painting found in Madrid known as the Madonna di Soledad. The painting was brought to Malta in 1646 by cleric of the Order of St John.
See also
References
- ^ "Valletta - The Churches". Retrieved on 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Church of St. James" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 27 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ Baroque Routes Archived 2016-08-28 at the Wayback Machine. p. 13.
- ^ The historical guide to the island of Malta and its dependencies. p. 46.
- ^ "Il-Knisja ta' San Ġakbu- fil-Belt Valletta -" Archived 2014-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, Malta. Retrieved on 24 October 2014.