MAN-MADE BEAUTY - St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta

St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta

This is a Catholic church located in Valletta, Malta capital. This Cathedral was build between 1573 and 1577 by the St John's Knights of Jerusalem. The plans was designed by the military maltese architect Girolamo Cassar.It's a Baroco period master piece.
Outside, the monument is austere and stern. It was Cassar wish. He wanted to transcribe the rigor and sobriety of the St Johns Knights community, loyal to their miltary Valletta vocation. The Cathedral is a huge necropol. The floor is cobbled by 369 graveyards in polychroma marble. Under the ground you, layed the knights bodies. The gran masters relayed in some sarcophagus inside some crypts, or in their own chapel. Some of those chapels got amazing Mattia Preti paints on their walls.The oratory is reserved for the novice. You can find there, the two most famous paints of Malta : The Saint Jerome (1607) and the St Johns Baptiste decollation (1608), paint by Le Caravage. The Cathedral museum is also very interesting to visit. You can see Flemish wall tapestry.

Length	65 metres (213 ft)
Width	40 metres (130 ft)
Width	20 metres (66 ft)