Lorenzo Gafà

Lorenzo Gafà
Bust of Lorenzo Gafà, possibly by his brother Melchiorre
Born	1639 Birgu, Malta
Died	16 February 1703 (aged 64)
Nationality	Maltese
Occupation	Architect
Notable work	St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina and many other churches
Style	Baroque
Parents	Marco Gafà (father) Veronica Gafà (mother)
Relatives	Melchiorre Cafà (brother)

Lorenzo Gafà (1639–1703) was a Maltese Baroque architect and sculptor. He designed many churches in the Maltese Islands, including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo. He was the younger brother of the sculptor Melchiorre Cafà.

Gafà was born in 1639 in Birgu, to the stone carver Marco Gafà and his wife Veronica. He began his working life as a stone carver with his father and his older brother Melchiorre, who became a renowned sculptor. He might have studied architecture in Rome, although there is no documentary evidence that he ever left Malta.

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 the Church of St. Philip in Żebbuġ. Sometime before 1666, he worked on the reredos of the main altar in the church of Sta Scolastica and in the Dominican church of the Annunciation, both in his native town of Birgu. He is also known to have designed the altar of the Church of St. Nicholas in Valletta. He also designed or was involved in the construction of the following churches:

Some sources also state that Gafà was involved in the construction of the Church of St. Catherine in Żurrieq (1632–55), the Church of Our Saviour in Kalkara (1650), the Church of St. Mary in Żebbuġ (1683), the Church of the Holy Spirit in Żejtun (1688), the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mdina (1688), the choir of the Church of the Nativity of Mary in Naxxar (1691), the Church of the Annunciation in Tarxien (1692), the Church of St. Nicholas in Mdina (1692), the Church of St. Agatha in Mdina (1694) and the Church of St. Julian in Senglea (1696).