Europe's fourth largest dome Photo

Photographer’s Note

WS - Miracle with the bomb. You find the story in the note.
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The town of Mosta (pop. 8,500), northeast of Mdina, is worth seeing for the sake of its Neo-Classical Cathedral (by Grognet, 1833-63), with a dome which is one of the largest in the world.

Parish Church of St Mary

St Mary's was begun in 1833, long before immigration had enriched its then tiny population. The church took 27 years to build and the entire dome was constructed without the use of scaffolding, based on a design by architect George Grognet de Vasse.

40 metres are the diameters of the inner space.
53 metres are the diameters of the cupola.
66 metres are the altitudes of the cupola.
12000 people may gather in the church.

Under the towering simple dome and its 16 windows spiraling up to the lantern are six side chapels. The floor is an intricate geometry of two different marble inlays that weave and interplay of patters with the ceiling. The murals were painted by Guiseppe Cali early in this century.

Miracle with the bomb

In 1942 during World War II, the church took a direct hit from a German bomb while more than 300 people were congregated inside for Mass. The bomb pierced the dome and fell to the ground with a bounce, but failed to explode. The army took the bomb outside and diffused it, and no one was hurt. The event has become legendary, with many regarding it as a miracle.

Mosta

The town of Mosta is situated in the centre part of Malta. It is surrounded by fertile agricultural land. Neighboring villages and towns include Lija, Burmarrad, Rabat and Naxxar. Mosta is found on the main route from Valletta to Cirkewwa and experiences daily heavy traffic flows from north to south and vice versa. Mosta is 9 km away from the capital city of Malta, Valletta. Mosta is in continuous development, new buildings are erected every day and the business community is quite active and flourishing.
The population at about 18,000 inhabitants is one of the highest in the Maltese islands and has been given a boost in the last decades of the twentieth century by the establishment of a number of new housing estates.
(Source: holiday on malta & planetware/malta)
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!! From the patches....I took this photo before a big storm, there was much sand in the wind... preserving the objectives purely was very heavy because of this. I would like to show you this huge building very much (this is the Europe's fourth largest dome!). I looked it up because of this little patchy picture...

npecanhuk, dip, ls7902, besnard, thor68, snunney, ChrisJ, jjcordier, Buin, azaf1, jlbrthnn, saylan-cb, ktanska, bobocortis, JanD, paura, amaryllis, AiresSantos, Silvio1953, ocskaymarci has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

filidor (665) 2009-01-30 0:35

Very eye-catching monument. The vibrant colours of the building are great balanced with the dark, stormy sky. I can see that the time is really difrent and depend on the side of measure - did You see these two watches? :)

npecanhuk (13595) 2009-01-30 0:37

Hello George!
A very well taken frontal architecture picture! The building really looks amazinly beautiful and truly big (people in front of it gives us better this idea!). Sharpness is excellent allowing me to see all the details of that construction! Exposure is correct with the best balance of light! Colors are natural and beautiful too! I really like it! TFS - Congratulations!
Warmest regards,
Neyvan

dip (12532) 2009-01-30 0:42

Hi George,
beautiful image of the Cathedral,impressive view!
very good point of view and excellent capture of the heavy atmosphere before the storm,
Greetings,
Dimitris.

mesutilgim (36581) 2009-01-30 0:44

Hi dear George,
My "almost" neighbour today !
We are learning Malta with your great captures.
Very good pov and perfect compo.
Nice brillint colors and very good usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

ls7902 (6134) 2009-01-30 0:57

Hello George,
A fine capture of that impressive church with good detail, sharpness, and colors against the dark sky. Good notes as always. Regards. Latiff.

besnard (30468) 2009-01-30 1:43

Bonjour Georg
Un joli cliché de ce très bel édifice à l'architecture intéressante et aux chaudes couleurs.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

snunney (34574) 2009-01-30 1:46

Hello George,
A splendid capture of this most impressive building. Beautifully rendered tones and detailing in the architecture. The people milling about on the steps contribute to the atmosphere and provide a sense of scale. Very comprehensive and interesting accompanying note.

ChrisJ (69973) 2009-01-30 1:47

Hi George

A superb architectural shot, with wonderful sharpness & balance. I like the warm colours. Have a great weekend!

thor68 (5537) 2009-01-30 1:53

what a pretty building! :-) excellent centered view with great details and nice warm colors. the dark sky gives a good
contrast to the brown-reddish stones. superb presentation & best wishes, thor.

jjcordier (24436) 2009-01-30 1:56

George
Une belle photo de ce bâtiment et une histoire très intéressante. Ceux qui ont lancé la bombe n'avaient certainement pas pensé qu'elle deviendrait objet de culte plus tard!
Amicalement
JJ

Buin (37374) 2009-01-30 2:09

Hallo George!
A most beautiful and interesting contribution! This really is an impressive building and your point of view emphasizes this impression skillfully. These people are a good scale for its dimensions. A wonderful sight!
Greetings from cold but sunny Germany!
Frank

azaf1 (15541) 2009-01-30 2:15

Hi George

A very imposing foto of the church in Mosta, a great place to be on August 15th when I was lucky enough to celebrate with the local people during the procession and the extreme fireworks.

Have a nice weekend and TFS
Argiris

jlbrthnn (37559) 2009-01-30 2:28

Hello George,
The image gives a good description of architecture and dimensions of this remarkable dome. Excel ws about this “miracle”. The very beautiful one and interesting work.
Have a nice day and weekend
Cordially
Joël

saylan-cb (12726) 2009-01-30 2:46

Hi George,
This is a very beautiful image of the cathedral,impressive view with excellent capture and very nice POV here.
Have a nice day,
TFS/Regards

Greg1949 (8507) 2009-01-30 3:16

George, I was wondering if you would get to this story, isn't the place where the bomb went through the roof through an open armed Jesus? Great shot in all ways and a super presentation.

Greg

TGULUMSER (12484) 2009-01-30 3:30

Hello George,
An amazing architecture and an excellent shot. Your POV is very well with taking all the details in the view.
Best regards,
Tulay

ktanska (16502) 2009-01-30 4:02

Hi George,
Dark sky works surprisingly well as a background to this light toned church. It is a special one with its huge dome. You good good contrasts considering flat light.
Kari

bobocortis (14136) 2009-01-30 13:02

Hello George.
The pov you've chosen exalts the dimensions of this neo-classical cathedral.
A great shot under a cloudy sky.
Best regards.
Bobo.

carper (64484) 2009-01-30 23:32

very nice photo George,
good composition, fine light and a fantastic building.
good photo job, have a good weekend.
regard jaap

JanD (14606) 2009-01-31 1:57

Howdy George!
Amazing temple. Wonderful church. Ideal composition. Very good symetry. Original take.
Regards!

paura (38222) 2009-01-31 3:16

George,
Amazing construction here, friend. Excellent point of view to show the very interesting place.

well done!

Paulo

amaryllis (17315) 2009-01-31 12:37

Bonjour Georg
une superbe église imposante et avec un dôme superbe, de belles couleurs et une bonne luminosité, et les deux tours avec les deux cloches que l'on aperçoit
un bon cadrage et une note explicite ainsi que le ws
bon dimanche
juliette

AiresSantos (41820) 2009-01-31 23:40

Hi George
Fine details in the wonderful Neo-Classical Cathedral, in northeast of Mdina. I like your perspective and how you handled the light
Have a nice Sunday
Aires

Silvio1953 (41390) 2009-02-01 3:27

Ciao George, good POV for this wonderful great church, splendid light and colors, very well done, have a good Sunday, ciao Silvio

ocskaymarci (2508) 2009-02-04 9:40

Szia Gyuri!
Nagyon hatásos kép erről a kivételes építészeti remekműről. Innen elölnézetből nagyon impozáns, a viharfelhők az égen pedig szintén "emelik" a kép hangulatát. Érdekes a jegyzet is, amit a történtéről írsz!
Üdv,
Marci