Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a baroque temple in Valletta, founded in 1681 by the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, Gregorio Caraf, whose coat of arms is still visible on the facade of the building. The current temple was built after the demolition of an earlier one, which was established in 1607 during the reign of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt.
The church has a series of paintings depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, whose author is Mattia Preti - an extremely prolific Italian baroque painter, settled in Malta. Particularly noteworthy is the "picture in picture", depicting the Virgin Mary with the Child and Saint. Grzegorz and a portrait of Gregorio Carafa.
The final form was given to the church by reconstruction in the 1920s. The building was enlarged and a dome was added. Most of the façade decorations have been preserved, including the historic sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi.
Attractions inside
