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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