When our oldest decided to go to Malta for her graduation trip (one year delayed due to COVID), of course, the first thing we wondered was whether there were any Caravaggio paintings to be viewed there.  He did spend a year and a half in Malta and was even accepted into the Order of the Knights of St. John AKA the Knights of Malta.  This was, of course, until he killed the Knights’ organist, was thrown in prison, kicked out of the Order, and the miraculously escaped the prison before he headed to Sicily (about 50 miles away). Pretty standard stuff.

Part of why Caravaggio was accepted into the Order, even though he wasn’t noble (a requirement), and didn’t have any money (also a requirement because you basically had to pay your way in), was that he agreed to paint for them.  Luckily, two of his paintings that he created while in Malta are well preserved and located in the St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, and let me tell you, St. John’s is uber proud of their Caravaggios, way more so than any other location where we have seen his paintings so far. Here’s a reminder to check out our story of our worldwide hunt for Caravaggio and what we’ve seen so far.

So when you’re a Caravaggio hunter, and it’s the LAST thing you are going to see in a place, it’s honestly hard to focus on anything else, but we tried our best.  I mean, this Cathedral is gorgeous. It is super ornate and has a really cool history.  In fact, during World War II, when the whole area around Valletta was getting bombed out, the Co-Cathedral remained untouched.  It’s a Co-Cathedral, because the primary Cathedral (which is the seat of the Archbishop of Malta), St. Paul’s, is located in Malta’s original capital city, Mdina.  But, as Valletta was gaining in popularity, the Archbishop decided that he wanted a second “seat,” hence, it’s a Co-Cathedral.  I have literally never heard of this in my life, but I’ve been learning all sorts of new vocab in Malta, so I can’t complain!

It costs 12 Euros to get in to the Cathedral.  They’re very strict about clothing here, and at basically all churches in Malta, much like in Rome, so if you are wearing short-shorts or a tank top, they will give you cape to cover up around your shoulders and your legs.  Honestly, when you’re going into any place of worship while you are traveling, just don’t wear short-shorts or tank tops.  It’s easier to just be respectful from the outset. Those polyester capes looked scratchy and non-breathable, which is terrible in the heat and the place was not air conditioned. Anyway, you also get an audioguide for your 12 Euros, and its basically a small phone with headphones attached where you can listen at your own pace.  Of course, with my luck with audioguides, my battery was dying about 2 minutes in, so i had to get a new one.  The headphones they give you are NOT made for people with small heads, so mine kept falling off all over the place and it was distracting and irritating.  I basically gave up except for listening about the Caravaggio stuff.  

There are lots of fancy paintings in here, including a few by Preti.  It’s a lot to get through, but everything pales in comparison to when you get to the Oratory.  The Oratory is the place where sacraments were performed, as well as other rituals and ceremonies.  Caravaggio himself was inducted into the Order of the Knights of St. John in this very place.  We actually walked where he walked!  At the head of the Oratory is Caravaggio’s largest painting, “The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.” It is really immense, and the characters almost seem life sized.  It is dark, and the figures stand more brightly lit, with St. John on the ground with his blood spilling out of his neck. So gory! This is the only painting Caravaggio signed, and it’s signed in the blood that is spilling out of St. John on the ground.  We stood staring at the painting for a long time.  We even contemplated going back another day just to look at it again.  Seriously, epic. 

There was a second painting which is “St. Jerome Writing,” which was completed about a year before the previous painting.  It is kept in its own room one floor down from the oratory and is somewhat crappily lit, since there is always a glare on one side of the painting depending on where you’re standing to look at it. This is a younger St. Jerome than the one we saw in Montserrat, Spain.  He has a bit more hair on his head, and his skin is not yet drooping off of his body like in the other painting. He still had the same pensive look though, as well as the common red mantle and skull.  

Like I said before, St. John’s is uber proud of their Caravaggios and there is even a small room with a short, 10 minute movie about Caravaggio’s life shortly before he came to Malta, through his escape from prison.  The production value is good, and the English narrator also does a pretty good job as well.  The actors don’t speak at all in the movie, it is 100% narrated.  It was a nice little brush-up on Caravaggio history for about the 2 years before and during his stint in Malta.  Definitely worth a viewing if you are at the Co-Cathedral, and you don’t even have to wear the cruddy headphones!  

St. John’s Co-Cathedral is one of the top sites to visit for anyone who comes to Valletta, Malta, whether you are into Caravaggio or not. We enjoyed our visit, and especially enjoyed the fact that they are as as geeked out over Caravaggio as we are.