DK Travel : Malta & Gozo : St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta

St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta

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St John’s Co-Cathedral, designed by Gerolamo Cassar and consecrated in 1578, looms over Valletta like a giant fortress. Yet when you step over the threshold, the austerity gives way to an interior of dazzling beauty. The marble floor is covered with richly inlaid tombstones, every wall is intricately carved with flowers and garlands, and the vaulted ceiling is splendidly painted with frescoes by Mattia Preti (1613–99). The Cathedral’s treasures include a magnificent painting of St John the Baptist by Caravaggio as well as a series of exquisite tapestries with designs by Rubens and Poussin. Since the 1820s, it has shared cathedral status with Mdina’s Cathedral of St Paul.
You may be refused entry if you are not dressed respectfully. Shoes with pointed or narrow heels are not allowed as they can damage the delicate floor. Nearby you’ll find Valletta’s most venerable (but pricey) café, the Caffé Cordina which has tables out on the square. More on The Knights of St John The crypt is in a poor state of preservation, and is rarely open to the public.

Top 10 Features

1. Façade

The cathedral’s severe and unadorned façade is a reminder that it was built as the centrepiece of the new fortress-city of Valletta. Unlike the interior, it was never embellished by later Grand Masters.
2. Cannons

2. Cannons

Two cannons guard the main entrance to the church. They date back to 1600 and 1726; the first bears the Battenburg coat of arms, while the other is engraved with the coat of arms of Grand Master Vilhena (see Antoine Manoel de Vilhena (1722–36) ).
3. Belltowers

3. Belltowers

The severe belltowers flanking the main entrance are the model for the twin belltowers that adorn virtually every church in Malta.
4. Nave

4. Nave

The nave was at first as plain as the façade. It was transformed in the 1660s, when Mattia Preti gave it a Baroque makeover and painted his magnificent frescoes depicting episodes from the life of St John.
5. Marble Tombstones

5. Marble Tombstones

The entire floor of the church is a sea of multicoloured marble, where 400 Knights are buried beneath dazzling tombstones. Each is adorned with the coat of arms of its aristocratic occupant, along with symbols reminding onlookers of the inevitability of death.
6. Chapels of the Langues

6. Chapels of the Langues

Each of the Langues the national chapters of the Order of St John was given its own chapel off of one of the aisles on either side of the nave. The Langues vied with each other to create the most lavish chapel, and all are richly decorated. Those of Provence and Italy are the most sumptuous.
7. Oratory

The Oratory contains Caravaggio’s masterpiece and Malta’s most famous work of art, The Beheading of John the Baptist (1608).
8. High Altar

8. High Altar

The 17th-century High Altar is made of gold, silver and bronze, encrusted with precious jewels in many hues.
9. Crypt

Here are 12 tombs of Grand Masters, including la Vallette, after whom the city is named, plus that of Sir Oliver Starkey.
10. Museum

The museum displays the co-cathedral’s most important paintings, lavishly embroidered vestments, illuminated antiphonaries, silver plate and a fine collection of 17th-century tapestries.

Practical Information

You may be refused entry if you are not dressed respectfully. Shoes with pointed or narrow heels are not allowed as they can damage the delicate floor. Nearby you’ll find Valletta’s most venerable (but pricey) café, the Caffé Cordina which has tables out on the square. Misraħ San Ġwann (visitors’ entrance on Triq Ir-Repubblika) 2122 0536 Open 9:30am–4:30pm Mon–Fri, 9:30am–12:30pm Sat Adm Lm2.50