Valletta and the Saint John’s co-Cathedral’s treasures.
When exploring Valletta Malta, there is no adequate preparation for walking into Saint John's Co-Cathedral.
St.John’s co-Cathedral - Valletta Malta
Built in 1572 on the commission of Grand Master Jean de la Cassière, the Knights' architect Girolamo Cassar designed the facade to project the military might of the Order — at a time when artistic frivolity was far from their minds. The memory of the Great Siege of 1565 was still raw. The Ottoman threat still imminent.
St.John’s Co-Cathedral facade
Saint John's Co-Cathedral s facade conceals over two centuries of accumulated magnificence — gifts known as gioia — that every Grand Master, every langue of the Order, every generation of Knights added to what came before. An interior unlike anything else in Europe in Valletta - Malta : today capital city of the islands and UNESCO World Heritage City
In the early 1660s, with the Ottoman threat finally receding and the Order at the height of its power, Grand Master Raphael Cotoner commissioned the Calabrian artist Mattia Preti to transform the interior entirely — in exchange for a Knighthood of the Order. Preti would spend five years working on the barrel vault. Eighteen scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist, rendered directly onto limestone. Shadow and placement doing the work of sculpture.
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), c 1608, St.John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta - Malta
Earlier, in 1604, the Oratory was added to the original conventual church — built as a place of prayer and initiation for the Knights. It was here that Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was commissioned to paint The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Nearly five metres across. The only work he ever signed — his name written in the blood of the saint. Fugitive, genius, Knight of Malta for the briefest of moments.
What fascinates me is Caravaggio's palette — the teal in particular recalls other works of his. Have you seen any?
Take time to explore the Caravaggio rooms and the ten-minute introductory film before leaving the cathedral. Both provide valuable context for understanding the artist's brief but remarkable chapter in Malta.
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words by Michelle A. · art historian & lead travel curator, co-founder Selectedly TravelPhotography by @see_my_malta. Follow our visual journal for more stories, architecture, art and heritage from Malta, Gozo and Sicily.