Qormi, also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324, making it Malta's fifth-largest city.
View of the Church of Saint George
Pinto's Loggia
Palazzo Stagno 1589
A traditional bread maker in Qormi
Sebastian was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Il Sodoma, c. 1525
St Sebastian (Sebianus) in the Nuremberg Chronicle
Reliquary of Saint Sebastian, c. 1497 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)
Lodovico Carracci painted St Sebastian Thrown into the Cloaca Maxima for the church at the place where his body was found (1612). The subject is virtually unique.
