Old Church of Santa Venera
Knisja l-Qadima ta' Santa Venera
Façade of the church
35°53′30.8″N 14°28′43″E / 35.891889°N 14.47861°E / 35.891889; 14.47861
LocationSanta Venera
CountryMalta
DenominationRoman Catholic
Religious orderCarmelites
History
StatusChurch
Founded1473
DedicationSaint Venera
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Years built1658–1688
Specifications
MaterialsLimestone
Administration
ArchdioceseMalta
ParishSanta Venera

The Old Church of Santa Venera (Maltese: Knisja l-Qadima ta' Santa Venera) is a Roman Catholic church in Santa Venera, Malta, dedicated to saint of the same name. It was built between 1658 and 1688 on a site of a 15th-century church. It was the town's parish church from 1918 to 1989, when the parish was transferred to the new Santa Venera Parish Church.

History

The church (without its belfry) as depicted on a fresco at the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.
The church (without its belfry) as depicted on a fresco at the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.

The first church which stood on the site was built in 1473, and it was enlarged in 1500. It was rebuilt between 1658 and 1688. The present configuration of the building dates back to the 19th century.[1] The church was given to the Carmelites on 12 December 1912,[2] and it became a parish church on 4 September 1918.[3] It is located adjacent to a friary and a school.[4]

Château Lonz

The church became too small to cater for the town's growing population by the mid-20th century, so a storeroom in Château Lonz began to be used as a temporary church in 1947, and a new parish church began to be built in 1954.[2] The old church remained the parish church until 3 December 1989, while the new church building was still incomplete.[3]

In 2017, when some paintings were removed to be sent for restoration, Baroque and Rococo frescoes believed to date back to the 17th century were discovered on the walls.[5]

The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.[1]

Artworks

The altarpiece is attributed to Stefano Erardi. The church also contains a number of paintings by the school of Mattia Preti and by the Maltese artist Giuseppe Calì.[1][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Old Church of Sta. Venera" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 26 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Falzon, Chris (17 July 2005). "New St Venera parish church will be consecrated today". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Storja tal-Knisja l-Qadima". Parroċċa Santa Venera (in Maltese). Archived from the original on 30 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Scerri, John. "Santa Venera". malta-canada.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 Muscat, Maria (1 April 2017). "Surprise discovery at Santa Venera old church". Malta. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018.

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