The Saviour Chapel

Historians think that a chapel dedicated to Our Saviour was founded in 1487. Nonetheless, in the era of the knights of the Order of St John, Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Vallette ordered the demolishment of the chapel. This decision was taken to prevent the invading Turks to use the chapel as a shelter during the Great Siege of 1565. In 1580, Grand Master La Cassiere gave permission to Claudio Abela and Davidde Burlò to build a new chapel on the same site of the old chapel. When bailiff Fra Giovanni Bichi died after contracting the Plague, he was buried in this chapel. Four years later, in 1680 Fra Giovanni Bichi’s nephew, Fra Mario Bichi demolished and rebuilt the chapel on Lorenzo Gafà’s design. A monument was manufactured in memory of Fra Giovanni Bichi. The titular painting of Our Saviour was painted by Mattia Preti, however this was stolen in 1798 during the French blockade. The feast of Our Saviour was celebrated on 6th of August with the distribution of bread known as għażżiela. The chapel was built in the form of a hexagon, with six walls, more or less of the same length. The Saviour Chapel served as Kalkara’s Parish church when St Joseph church was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War.