A look inside Valletta's amazing St John’s Co-Cathedral through the eyes of a scholar
Professor Keith Sciberras gives us the lowdown on what makes this place a must visit.
St John’s co-Cathedral is a playground for any local or non-local who places art at the top of their priorities list. Completed in 1577 under the ruling of Grand Master Jean de la Cassière, the co-Cathedral is known for its bold artistic creations that are presented to the public in the form of painting, sculpture and architecture - a trompe l'oeil feast for the masses. But there’s so much more than meets the eye at St John’s, including some magical notes that only the pros can point out.
Meet the expert
Professor Keith Sciberras is one of those pros - dare I say the pro. He’s the Head of Department for the University of Malta's Art and History of Art team - a Baroque expert with a keen interest in Caravaggio studies and the Baroque movement in Malta and beyond. Professor Sciberras, apart from giving lectures at the University, also devotes his time to intense travel programmes where art is at the top of the itinerary; he’s been involved in major exhibitions overseas and has even organised for students to travel around Europe on study tours focused around museum visits and other cultural experiences.
The co-Cathedral
As a former History of Art student myself, the pinnacle moment in my three-year journey, apart from handing in my two-book thesis, was a visit to St John’s co-Cathedral, where our small class toured the inside of the church with a guide whose knowledge of each and every crevice is known. Professor Sciberras enlightened us by presenting all forms of art with great detail, from the marbles and metals used in the altar to the gentle welcome sign hidden in the frescos above. Sciberras comments, “the interior of St John’s presents a perfect summation of what the Baroque was all about. It is triumphant in manner, rich and opulent in design, ceremonial in display and propagandistic in outlook. It engaged with the spectator in a manner that was novel for Malta.”
St John’s co-Cathedral is thought to be so important in our culture and heritage because of what it signifies to the island - the rule of the Knights of St John - who brought so many examples of Fine Art to our island, as well as the prevailing idea of Catholicism in the country.
The Cathedral is embellished with some of the most elaborate figures, such as the titular altar sculpture of the Baptism of John by Giuseppe Mazzuoli, following a project that had been onset by Melchiore Cafà - a talented sculptor in the 1660s. There are many interesting facts about this particular sculptural piece, but let’s leave that for another time. Sciberras claims that the most important thing to know about Cafà’s work of art is that “he really made the headlines in Rome and was considered as the most brilliant of the sculptors of the younger generation.”
Other glorious creations in the Cathedral include Mattia Preti’s altar painting of St George on Horseback found in the Chapel of the Langue of Aragon within the Cathedral. This great painting shows “how Preti wanted to impress his new patrons by presenting a picture that expressed his virtuoso talent at its very best”, comments Professor Sciberras. He also adds that this kind of characterisation and movement is also seen in Preti’s monumental narratives for the life cycle of St John the Baptist found in the ceiling of the same church.
Worth a visit
There’s so much to discover and learn about Malta’s great Cathedral, and Professor Keith Sciberras’ parting words on the subject of St John’s are to inspire locals, visitors, scholars and non-artsy folk alike to visit one of the islands’ greatest art historical treasures. “It grounds the essential character of the patronage patterns of the Knights of the Order of St John who commissioned, whenever possible, the best available artists, craftsmen, and artisans to execute artistic and decorative work. Caravaggio’s Beheading of St John the Baptist is, for example one of the most significant paintings in the story of world art.”