Throughout history, marble has been the stone of choice to decorate impressive edifices such as churches and palaces or to make beautiful statues. It has certainly stood the test of time.

The pulpit made from white marble with mosaic motifs and bronze statues.

It is clear from surviving evidence that churches in the Maltese islands greatly lacked marble decoration, unlike in neighbouring Italy, prior to the 17th century. The oldest documented and surviving church marble items in Malta are a marble holy water font and a tabernacle (the latter forming part of an altar made out of limestone), both made out of white Carrara marble. These date back to the latter half of the 15th century and are found in the Dominican Order’s church in Rabat

One can perhaps surmise that it was around 1567 when Malta responded to the culture of art and craft in marble while the building of the new city of Valletta was taking place. It was in this domain that the classics were laid. The island was losing interest in medieval history and it was ready to look to Rome and further afield for modern influences.

With the building of Valletta’s new auberges, palaces, churches and St John’s Co-Cathedral, no luxury eastern product had a more all-pervasive effect on the interior appearance than colourful and exotic imported marble.

The paved polychrome floors inside St John’s are considered to be one of the most unique treasures in the world. Angels, skeletons and other ethereal icons are inlaid with breath-taking precision and artistry into the marble quadrangles of the Co-Cathedral floor, with a distinct theme or message in each section. Indeed, the 405 tombstones constitute a vibrant and festive procession that expounds upon both the inevitability of death and the rapture of life beyond. Certainly this period was one of the most successful phases for local art and craft.

St John the Evangelist, one from a set of 16 circular alto relieve figures of the apostles.

As from the mid-17th century, the new architectural idiom of the Baroque took hold of Malta. With the building of new churches or enlargement of older ones, procurators or benefactors opted to furnish their new church’s holy water fonts, baptismal fonts and altars with polychromed marble rather than using local limestone for the same purpose, as had been done previously. Such was the case with Senglea’s parish church.

At the time, a particular family had come to Malta specifically to work marble. This was the Durante family. Records suggest that their first workshop might have been in Valletta. Subsequently, and for several generations, this family made Senglea its abode and had its workshop there as well.

Senglea-born Claudio Durante made the altars for Senglea’s Holy Crucifix oratory and the Candlemas oratory. Furthermore, Lorenzo Durante made the altar of St Barbara in 1781 and Carlo Durante produced the altars of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Immaculate Conception, the Holy Trinity and St Francis de Paule between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. None of these altars have survived due to the almost total destruction the church suffered during World War II. With the rebuilding of the church, they were replaced with a new set of 10 side altars.

This altar was sold to St Paul’s Bay parish church, and thus saved from destruction, when Senglea’s parish church was bestowed the title of basilica in 1921

A prime motivation in choosing marble for a church’s main furnishings was its very consecration. During the episcopate of Fra Paolo Alpheran de Bussan (1728-1757) as Bishop of Malta and Gozo, the need to consecrate relatively old and recently built churches became a priority.

The octagonal-shaped marble baptismal font.

A set of 12 crosses in marble, symbolising the 12 Apostles, was required as the main tangible and visible symbol around a particular church to denote its consecration. The Church restricted elaborate forms of such consecration crosses in that the shape had to be a Greek cross with a roundel. Senglea parish church’s consecration crosses were made by Gregorio Durante possibly in 1743 when the church was consecrated.

Here, Gregorio used two techniques – inlaid marble and relief work – to manufacture this beautiful set. Inlaid marble was applied to craft scallop shells, which were part of the coat of arms of Grand Master de la Sengle (1553-1557), already by then recognised as the city’s founder, and relief work used to create the 12 stars, an iconographic motif related to the Woman of the Apocalypse.

Altars, especially high altars, proved to be the crowning piece of any artistic work inside a baroque church. The high altar at St Paul’s Bay parish church was originally designed and made in 1804 for Senglea’s parish church, possibly by Carlo Durante, the last member of the Durante family. Different types of polychrome marble were used and it is decorated by marble inlays and sculptured motifs. This altar was sold to St Paul’s Bay parish church, and thus saved from destruction, when Senglea’s parish church was bestowed the title of basilica in 1921 , and a fixed baldacchino, after the design of architect Andrea Vassallo, was accordingly erected instead of this high altar.

Senglea-born Francesco Bonnici (1827-1886), brother of Giuseppe, a very prolific painter, may very likely be identified as the painter who reportedly designed the sacristy marble pavement of Senglea parish church in 1861. In the sacristy, one also finds a decorative marble lavabo, used by the celebrant for the ceremonial washing of the hands and recitation from psalms before and after Mass. This was donated by the well-known firm Giuseppe Darmanin e Figli, which established itself in Senglea in 1708 and was mainly renowned for the creation of high-quality marble table tops inlaid with various naturalistic foliage subjects.

During the first years of the 20th century, the decision was taken to cover the pillars of the church’s nave with marble. The marble used was verde antico for the pillars themselves and rosso di Verona for the side pillars.

Furthermore, the side pillars were embellished by a unique set of 16 circular alto relieve figures of the apostles together with St Matthias, St Paul and St Barnabas and the evangelists St Mark and St Luke. This set was manufactured by the Federico Bonetti firm of Pietrasanta, Italy. Fortunately, the set was spared the ravages of war, and is to this day are considered to be one of the main and much treasured artefacts at the Senglea basilica.

While the commissions for the covering of the pillars with marble were made by Archpriest Can. Francesco Briffa (1903-1908), the marble slabs started to be put in place by Senglea’s craftsmen during the time of Archpriest Can. Giuseppe Adami (1908-1927). Meanwhile, in 1911, Archpriest Adami himself took the initiative and paid all the expenses for the setting up of a marble ­­­­­­­­­­­octagonal-shaped baptismal font surmounted by a small statue of St John the Baptist baptising Jesus Christ.

A few years later, on May 30, 1931, Archpriest Can Giuseppe Bonanno (1927-1939) blessed the new marble pulpit made from white marble with mosaic motifs together with bronze statues and ornamental symbols. In that same year, the Bonetti firm completed the project of the marble balustrade which separates the area known as the presbytery from the rest of the church. Various other works made from marble, were made so as to embellish the parish church and its side chapels until 1938.

One of the major losses during the bombardments of World War II was the aforementioned baldacchino above the high altar. In the early 1950s, when Senglea’s basilica was being rebuilt, the erection of a new canopy was taken in hand; this time it followed a design submitted by Chev. Vincenzo Bonello.

Although the proposal was very similar to the original one, Bonello inserted four seated angels and four heraldic bearings (designed by Maltese sculptor Vincenzo Apap and executed in wood by Ferdinando Stuflesser firm of Bolzano) at the upper part and bronze decorative elements at the lower part of the shafts of the marble columns. The column’s plinths bear the effigies of 16 saints associated with the Virgin Mary.

The new canopy built on the design of Chev. Vincenzo Bonello.

Bonello also used a different style for the marble altar which was made of white marble by the Battelli firm of Pietrasanta. The whole project was completed in 1963 and blessed by Senglea-born Mgr Emanuele Galea, Bishop of Tralles and Vicar General, on March 22, 1964, when Can. Giovanni Carlo Burlò (1948-1966) was Archpriest.

The reconstruction of Senglea’s basilica also entailed the laying down of a new marble paving, for which Chev. Bonello submitted several designs. The one chosen and executed by the Sarè firm is a simple design more or less based on square elements in the nave, circles in the aisles and rectangles as one proceeds up the nave and into the transepts.

Since the pillars of the nave, together with the transcept and all the chapels on the right-hand side of the church were built anew, they had to be covered with marble so as to mirror those on the opposite side. This task started to be accomplished in March 1971.

This commission, together with the marble placed to adorn the central apse, was carried out by the Romeo Ceccotti firm of Pietrasanta, while the marble works together with the side altars and the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, were carried out by the Spiteri Sacco firm when Can. Giovanni Sladden (1967-1985) was Archpriest of Senglea.

This monumental church is much more than a hallowed place of worship; it is an important landmark. The numerous visitors to this Senglea’s historic church of Maria Bambina admire its fascinating architectural elements and positively remark about its considerable artistic merits. This is the visible abode where the Lord never ceases to show favour to His family on pilgrimage till it reaches its fullness in the vision of peace, the heavenly city of Jerusalem. It is hoped that this feature will contribute to a fuller appreciation of the broad and valuable patrimony we have received.