Malta - St John's CO-Cathedral

Josh, the kids, and I have seen quite a few churches and cathedral's here in Europe. they range from modest to ornate. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING can compare to St John's Co-Cathedral in Malta. So, a little PRE-info before we get to the real info.
In 1530 Emperor Charles V gave the Maltese Islands to the Knights of St John and the 250 years of their rule are the most illustrious in the history of the archipelago. The population welcomed the Order in hopes that they would enjoy greater protection from assult by the pirates. Attacked by the Turks in 1547 and 1551, the Kinghts were obliged to build fortifications such as Fort St Angelo and Fort St Elmo on the north coast of Malta. The Order built new churches and palaces as well as aqueducts, and art too underwent a revival.
Now on to the info......
In 1573 Grand Master Jean de la Cassiere authorized the construction of a conventual church of the Order if St John. It was completed in 1578 by Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar. It was designed to look, on the outside, like a military fort and gives NO indication of the opulant interior. The clock tower accuraetly display the day of the week, the date of the day and the time of day.
The inside of the cathedral was embellished by successive Grand masters and further enrighed by the "Gioja" or gift, by every Knight was bound by statute to give on admission to the Order. The inside is rectangular in shape and there are eight small chapels - four on each side of the cathdral, one for each country represented by the Knights - Germany, Italy, France, Provence, Anglo-Bavarian, Castille Leon and Portugal, Aragon and Auvernge. The Knights seemed to try and out decorate each other. Painting, gilding, carving and monuments are everywhere.
To say the inside is opulant is a tiny understatement. The walls are carved and gilded limestone. The ceiling is painted in eight vingettes by
Mattia Preti. The figures painted into the corners at first appear 3-D as they are painted with corosponding shadows. One of the figures is believed to be a self portrait of Preti. It is depicted as a man holding up 5 fingers representing the 5 years it took for him to complete the ceiling.
Another amazing site in the cathedral is the huge silver gates in the Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos. They were installed in the eighteenth century as a gift to the church from the inheritance of two prominent knights, Bali Guglielmo de la Salle and Bali Francesco Rovero di Guarena. The knights often vied with one another to give the church gifts of ever lasting beauty and prestige. It is rumored that the Maltese painted the silver gates with black paint during World War II to fool Napoleon into thinking the gates were cast iron and worthless. While most of the silver in the cathedral was taken, the gates were left in peace and restored at a later date.
Below you will find a few pictures of the cathedral. I have included some pictures of a death monument - popular for people that contributed to the beutifaction of the church - so you can see the detail work. It s mind boggling to think of the detail work that is involved in these monuments.

** Information was provided by Malta and the islands Gozo and Comino by Miller Distributors Limited