This is a general view of the interior of the cathedral. I was of the impression that no photography is allowed in the cathedral but I found out that only flash photography is not allowed. On the contrary, no photography at all is allowed in the museum and so I won’t be posting any shots from there. But in there I had a fabulous time admiring Caravaggio’s masterpieces, one – the behead of John the Baptist (the Order’s patron saint) is his most famous work ever. I had also the opportunity to see in person a set of tapestries donated to the order by Grand Master Perellos and woven in Belgium from the finest wool and silk yarns and each measureing 6 meters in height. The overwhelming dimensions and the fact that they are on designs by the renowned artist Peter Paul Rubens render this set one of the most spectacular interpretations of baroque art. They arrived in Malta in 1701 and were meant to fill the void between the church columns. I have never seen them in place and it’s been many many years since the last time they were hung in their intended place.
While touring the co-cathedral I had the opportunity to take many pictures of the church and will post some of them in the coming days. As you can see, the interior of St John’s, in sharp contrast with the facade, is extremely ornate and decorated in the height of the Baroque period. The cathedral floor is covered with tomb slabs, highly decorated in different types of marble with names of many distinguished dignitaries of the Order.
Thank you very much for looking and for your lovely comments on yesterday's picture
This looks like an amazing sanctuary- you could gaze at it for hours! I remember studying Caravaggio's artwork in my undergrad studies. He was a very dramatic painter. I'm looking forward to the other pictures of this beautiful church.
