Lorenzo Gafà was a Maltese

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

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Born in Vittoriosa (Birgu

Birgu

Birgu is an ancient city in Malta. It played a vital role in the Siege of Malta in 1565. Its population stood at 2,633 in December 2008.-History:...

), Gafà began his working life as a stone carver and his brother was the renowned sculptor Melchiorre. By the early 1660s he had developed a strong interest in architectural design and in 1661 is known to have been involved in the choir of St. Philip, Zebbug. In the early 1660s he worked on the reredos

Reredos

thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....

 of the main altar in the church of Sta Scolastica and in the Dominican church of the Annunciation, both in his native town of Vittoriosa. He is also known to have designed part of the church of St Nicholas, in Valletta

Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...

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He worked on the church of St. Paul, Rabat (1664–1683); Sarria church in Floriana

Floriana

Floriana is a town in Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. Floriana is the birthplace of many famous Maltese, amongst which the composer of the national anthem, 'L-Innu Malti', Robert Samut; former Bishop of Malta Dom Mauro Caruana, the poet Oliver Friggieri, and Swedish Idol winner...

 in 1676 and the Carmelite church, in Mdina (1668–1672) and had worked on various structures in Valletta by 1680. In Mdina where he undertook much work, he was assigned to design the Bishop’s Palace and between 1697 and 1702 he designed and supervised the construction of the church of the St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina

St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina

St. Paul's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Mdina, in Malta. It is built on the site where governor Publius was reported to have met Saint Paul following his shipwreck off the Maltese coast.-History:...

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He designed a great number of other cathedrals in the 1680s and 1690s such as St. Catherine in Żejtun

Zejtun

Żejtun is a medium sized town in the south of Malta. Żejtun holds the title of Città Beland, which was bestowed by Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, Grandmaster of Knights of Malta in 1797, Beland being his mother's surname....

 beginning in 1692 and in 1699 Our Lady of Victory in Valletta.

He also designed the parish church in Qrendi

Qrendi

Qrendi is a small village in the southwest of Malta, with a population of 2,527 people . It isġ near Mqabba and Żurrieq. Within its boundaries are two well-known Neolithic temples called Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim. In this village two feasts are held annually...

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He died in 1703.