St John's Co-Cathedral

St John's Co-Cathedral stands on St John Street (Triq San Ġwann) in the heart of Valletta, Malta, and is the finest monument of the Order of St John in the Mediterranean. Designed by the Maltese military architect Girolamo Cassar and completed in 1577, its austere limestone exterior gives little warning of the interior, which the painter and knight Mattia Preti transformed in the 17th century into one of Europe's most opulent Baroque spaces. Visitors enter through the main doors and walk across the nave floor, which is paved with roughly 400 inlaid marble tombstones commemorating knights of the Order, each decorated in coloured marble with coats of arms, skeletons and allegorical figures. Above, Preti's painted barrel vault shows scenes from the life of St John the Baptist, while the side chapels, one for each linguistic 'Langue' of the Order, are crowded with gilded carving, tapestries and sculpted tombs. The oratory holds the cathedral's greatest treasure, Caravaggio's 'The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist', the only painting the artist signed, along with his 'Saint Jerome Writing'. Flemish tapestries based on designs by Rubens hang in a dedicated museum space. A visit with the multimedia audio guide typically takes 1 to 1.5 hours. Photography without flash is generally permitted in the main spaces, though rules on the Caravaggio room should be checked on arrival. The cathedral is busiest from late morning to mid-afternoon, when cruise-ship groups arrive and the queue along St John Street can be long. Early opening at 9:00AM or the final two hours before closing offer the quietest conditions and the best light on the gilded vault. Modest dress with covered shoulders and knees is expected, and high heels are discouraged because they damage the marble tombs. The cathedral remains an active place of worship, so it closes on Sundays to sightseers and on public holidays, and parts may be cordoned off during services.