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St Rocco
Church
The first
church dedicated to this saint protector of those hit by the
plague was built in Birkirkara in 1593, just after one such
epidemic that had hit the islands. However it soon fell into
disrepair and in 1659 it was deconsecrated. But the recurrence
of the 1675 epidemic prompted the renewal of this church the
following year.
In 1863 it was
rebuilt in its present form. The facade has a neo-classical
touch and over the main door has a portico on two ionic
columns, very similar to those added by the British to certain
buildings. Two doric pilasters on the edges carry an
entablature in the same style and a triangular pediment with
antefixes. A campanile sits rather incongruously on the whole.
In a niche on the outside, there is a fine statue of St
Rocco made of local limestone.
Information taken from
www.birkirkaraonline.com |
