Facada of St. George's Church

Statue of St. George

Interior of the Church

The Basilica of St George Martyr is just off Pjazza Indipendenza, formally it-Tokk the main square in the very centre of the old town. First raised in medieval times, the basilica is referred to as the golden church. It is entirely covered with marble. The present church, in the form of a Latin cross, was built in 1672 on a plan by the well-known Maltese architect Vittorio Cassar. The structure was subsequently enlarged and embellished into the beautiful church that stands today. The main attraction is a painting of Saint George – martyr of Lydda – commissioned in 1678 to the master Italian painter Mattia Preti (1613 – 1699) by the Governor of Gozo Fra Francesco de Cordova. Another major work of art is the bronze canopy over the main altar, a replica by Carlo Pisi of Benini’s masterpiece in Saint Peter’s in the Vatican City.

A priceless treasure stands above all others: the charming statue of the martyr of Lydda. It is a masterpiece of Pietro Paolo Azzopardi (1791 – 1875), a statuary from Cospicua, Malta. It was commissioned in 1838 as an ex-voto by an anonymous family when through the intercession of the saint they, were freed from cholera. It was the first titular statue acquired by a Gozitan parish. Since 1882, the ecclesiastical authorities entrusted the external celebration of the feast to the La Stella Philharmonic Society. Another work of art by Mattia Preti and several others by the best Maltese painters embellish the side altars while the painting of Giovanni Battista Conti cover the dome, the entire ceiling and four apses.