History of the Cathedral | Mdina Cathedral Museum Archives

History of the Cathedral

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    1944

    The Bishopric of Malta is raised to the dignity of 'Metropolitan Archbishop' and heads the Ecclesiastical Province of Malta and Gozo. The Cathedral hereafter bears the title of 'Metropolitan Cathedral'
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    1888

    Two clocks, one for the hour and the other a calendar, are manufactured by renowned Maltese clockmaker Michelangelo Sapiano
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    1856

    The cathedral's dome fresco by the Manno brothers is largely destroyed during an earthquake
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    1774

    The Manno brothers complete the Cathedral's ceiling frescoes
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    1765

    Francesco Vincenzo Zahra finishes the inlaid marble-work in the Chapel of the Holy Crucifix
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    1754

    Francesco Vincenzo Zahra constructs the Altar of Repose
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    1726

    The wooden 'scannello' on the upper part of the altar is replaced by precious marble and a long block of lapis lazuli.
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    1705

    Work on the dome of the cathedral is completed
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    1703

    Consecration of the Cathedral by Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri takes place on 8 October
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    1702

    Lorenzo Cafà, the architect of the new cathedral, dies on 16 February
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    1699

    The bells are hoisted in a hazardous operation
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    1693

    Following a report of the damages incurred, the Chapter, in collaboration with Lorenzo Cafà, decides to rebuild the cathedral on 11 April
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    1693

    Volcanic activity on Mount Etna in Sicily causes a tremendous earthquake that hit Sicily and Malta on 11 January. Of the old cathedral only the recently-erected choir survives
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    1679

    The first stone of the cathedral choir is laid
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    1615

    Baldassare Cagliares becomes Bishop of Malta. He is the only Maltese native to ever become bishop during the Order's rule
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    1535

    A chestnut door carved in the Sicilian fashion, now altered and located at the entrance to the sacristy, is completed by Cola Curmi
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    1370

    The oldest extant medieval bell in Malta, named 'Petronilla', is cast at the 'Bottega di Colle dei Fabbri' in Venice for the Cathedral of Saint Paul
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    1299

    Earliest documented reference to a cathedral in Malta, shortly after the island's induction into the royal Aragonese confederation
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    1244

    An extant reference to Giovanni Zafarana, 'Maltensis Canonicus'. The earliest reference to a Cathedral Chapter in Malta
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    1168

    A certain 'Johannes' is the first documented case of a Latin Bishop of Malta
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    1127

    The final and definite Norman conquest of Malta and the start of the dominance of the Latin Christian faith on the island
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    592-599

    Letters by Pope Gregory the Great to Lucillus, Bishop of Malta. First reference to a fully-fledged Christian community on Malta with its own Church and Bishop
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