St. John Almonier Chapel

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Location: Dwardu, Bormla

The chapel of St. John the Almoner is situated in the area known as San Gwann t’Ghuxa in Bormla. It was built in 1682, evidence of this is the inscription on the façade which shows the year. The chapel was funded by Fra Pierre Vianny. Previously, there was another church devoted to St John de Almoner however it was destroyed, and its location is not known although some say that it was built outside the Santa Margherita Lines. The historians Gian Pietro Agius de Soldanis and Giovanni Francesco Abela who found a wooden statue of St. John the Baptist within the church which they stated that was brought to Malta from Rhodes. During the Second World War, the small palace which was adjacent to the chapel was destroyed during the aerial bombardments. As a result, the chapel now stands by itself. The church featured a small lunette and its titular painting which are both the work of Mattia Preti, nevertheless, they were moved to the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta and instead replicas of these were installed in the chapel. After several years in disuse, the chapel was turned into a cultural centre where meetings, exhibitions and cultural activities are held. In collaboration with Kottonera Foundation.

Il-kappella ta’ San Ġwann Almoner tinsab fl-inħawi magħrufa bħala San Ġwann t’Għuxa f’Bormla. Il-kappella inbniet fl-1682, evidenza ta’ dan hija l-iskrizzjoni fuq il-faċċata li turi s-sena ta’ meta nbniet. Il-kappella kienet iffinanzjata minn Fra Pierre Vianny. Preċedentement, kien hemm knisja oħra ddedikata lil San Ġwann t'Almoner madankollu din kienet inqerdet u l-post tagħha mhuwiex magħruf għalkemm xi wħud jgħidu li nbniet barra mis-Swar ta' Santa Margherita. L-istoriċi Gian Pietro Agius de Soldanis u Giovanni Francesco Abela li sabu statwa tal-injam ta’ San Ġwann Battista fil-knisja, huma ddikjaraw li din inġiebet Malta minn Rodi. Matul it-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija, il-palazz żgħir li kien biswit il-kappella inqered waqt il-bumbardamenti mill-ajru. Riżultat ta’ dan, il-kappella issa tinsab waħedha. Il-kappella kellha lunetta żgħira u l-pittura titulari tagħha li huma t-tnejn xogħol ta’ Mattia Preti. Madankollu, dawn ġew trasferiti għall-Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti fil-Belt Valletta u minflok ġew installati repliki tagħhom fil-kappella. Wara bosta snin ma tintużax il-kappella nbidlet f’ċentru kulturali fejn isiru laqgħat, esibizzjonijiet u attivitajiet kulturali. B’kollaborazzjoni mal-Fondazzjoni Kottonera.