Stop 04 of 9
The Cathedral & the Dome That Isn’t
A masterpiece of running out of money
Narration · 3 min
Have it read to you while you look at the thing itself, hands in pockets.
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Guide to The Cathedral & the Dome That Isn’t
Lorenzo Gafà designed Gozo's cathedral with a dome, and the money ran out before it could be built. The crossing was closed with a flat ceiling, and in 1739 someone painted a dome on it so convincingly that people still come to look up at it.
Gafà's third church
Built between 1697 and 1711, this is by the Maltese architect who also produced the cathedral at Mdina and St Lawrence's at Birgu. By this stage of his career he had a house style, and it shows in the proportions and the restraint of the front.
The dome that is not there
Stand under the crossing and look up. There are ribs, a drum and windows, and the whole thing recedes convincingly into the sky. The ceiling is flat.
Antonio Manuele of Messina painted it in 1739 in perspective accurate enough that from the right spot on the floor the illusion is essentially perfect. Move a few paces to one side and it slides and distorts; return to the centre line and it locks back into place.
It is also a very Gozitan solution: no money for a dome, so paint one, and paint it well enough that three centuries later the ceiling is the reason people come.
The rest of the building
The floor is a marble tomb pavement in the Maltese manner, and the cathedral museum next door holds the diocesan treasury.
This is the other half of the rivalry running down the hill to St George's, and seeing both in one morning is the point.
What to look at
- The painted dome — then walk to one side and watch the perspective collapse
- The marble tomb floor, in the same tradition as St John’s and Mdina
- Gafà’s facade: the same hand as the cathedral in Mdina
Practical
- Tickets
- Paid entry, usually combined with the cathedral museum.
- The trick
- Stand directly beneath the centre of the crossing for the illusion to work.
Walk to stop 05
Come out and turn right along the lane running behind the cathedral. A short way along on your left is a low doorway into a courtyard.
About 1 min · 70 m