Rotunda of Mosta

The Rotunda of Mosta, formally the Church of the Assumption of Mary, is a Roman Catholic church in Mosta, Malta, whose neoclassical dome ranks among the largest unsupported domes in the world at 37 metres in interior diameter. Consecrated in 1860, it was modelled closely on the Pantheon in Rome and towers over the surrounding rooftops of central Malta. Its most remarkable moment came on 9 April 1942, when a German aerial bomb pierced the dome during a packed Sunday Mass, bounced across the stone floor — and failed to detonate. Around 300 worshippers escaped unharmed, and Maltese Catholics widely regard the event as a Marian miracle. A replica of the unexploded bomb is on display in the sacristy today, making the church both a living place of worship and a quietly gripping piece of wartime history.