Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Malta's Baroque Churches

Birkirkara's St Helen's parish church
Whoever visits my home country of Malta will always be impressed by four things: the chaos in the traffic system, the warm hot summer months, the friendliness of the people and the beautiful Baroque churches that figure in every imaginable skyline. With the majority of them built 200 to 400 years ago, they are truly works of art, especially in the way they are decorated for the summer festa season, which is the highlight of every parish church, culminating with the procession of the titular saint’s statue around the streets of the respective town or village. The picture above shows the parish church dedicated to St Helen in Birkirkara. Hundreds of light bulbs literally cover the facade of this magnificent church, and the second picture shows the same facade during daylight. Most of these churches also have a dome, frequently painted in red or maroon, while the inside is just as spectacular as the outside. But you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to go inside.

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