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A privately owned chapel dedicated to St Leonard
situated in the limits of Zabbar has been allowed to fall into a state of
disrepair and is in a sorry state. Built in 1656 by Leonardo Sammut, the
chapel was dedicated to St Leonard,
after whom the owner was named. St Leonard
was also the patron saint of slaves and there was at the time a lot of
devotion to him as many Maltese were still slaves at the time.Mr Sammut,
who was very rich and known as Hasan il-Malti, was also the owner of a
large villa next door, which also lies abandoned. Salvatore Mousu, of Din
l-Art Helwa, said there had probably been another chapel dedicated to St
Mary on the site before St Leonard`s was built. It is believed the site is
currently jointly owned by many people and this could be one of the reasons
why it lies neglected. The paintings which used to adorn the chapel are now
at the Zabbar Sanctuary
Museum.
"family tree of Leonardo Sammut".
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