Cholera swept around Malta from 9th June to 9th October 1837, plundering the once Elderly Hospice in Floriana. The health authorities decided to evacuate all the hospitalized elderly into Fort Ricasoli in order to reduce the spread of this epidemic. Devastation occured, and a total of about 855 elderly were infected and succumbed to the […]
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The old Parish Church
On 23rd August 1884 Fortunato Gulia donated a plot of land for the building of a new Church in Kalkara. With request approval, Can. Rev. Joseph Azzopardi, together with a committee, was delegated to accomplish this project. Architect Guglielmo Attard designed the Church in the shape of a Latin cross. The first stone was blessed […]
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The Cross of the Great Siege
When the Ottomans invaded the Maltese islands in 1565, they found refuge on the hill of Our Saviour in Kalkara from where they attacked the Knights and Maltese in Vittoriosa. This battle is known as the Great Siege of Malta. Grand Master Jean Parisot de La Valette ordered the demolition of the old Church of […]
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Villa Bighi
Villa Bighi was designed by Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà. It was built in 1675 by Fra Giovanni Bichi, the grandson of Pope Alexander VII. A year later, the unfinished palace was inherited by his nephew Fra Mario Bichi, due to his sudden death. The Villa was abandoned during the French blockade. In 1827 King George […]
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The Church of Our Saviour
Prior to 1487 a Church dedicated to Our Saviour was built on the Rinella peninsula. Pastoral visits reveal the command by Grand Master Jean Parisot de La Valette for its demolition during the Great Siege of 1565 so as not to serve as shield for the Ottoman army. In 1580 the Church was rebuilt by […]
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