St. John's Co-Cathedral
The St. John's Co-Cathedral ( Maltese Kon-Katidral ta 'San Ġwann ) is the Co-Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta in Valletta . It is known as the Co-Cathedral because it serves as the second seat of the Archbishop of Malta next to St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina .
history
The church was built by the Maltese between 1573 and 1578 , commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as a representative monastery church at the center of the order. It was designed by the Maltese military architect Gerolamo Cassar , who also designed many other buildings in Valletta. While construction took only four years, it took over 100 years to fully equip the interior. In 1820 Pope Pius VII made the church a co-cathedral in order to underline its importance for the country and the city even after Napoleon expelled the Knights of Malta in 1798; the actual bishopric is in Mdina . It is consecrated to St. John the Baptist , patron saint of the Order of Malta .
The exterior has been extensively renovated since the 2010s.
facade
The strict and rather simple exterior of the church is in stark contrast to the magnificent interior. The architect Girolamo Cassar designed the facade in the Mannerist style . The portal, on the other hand, represents a break with Mannerism, it is framed by Doric columns . An open balcony rests on it, from which the services can take place. Local limestone was used as building material. The west facade is flanked by two bell towers (a two-tower church was the privilege of a bishop). On the south tower there is a clock with three dials, one of which shows the time (but without the minute hand), one the date (only the day, not the month) and one the day of the week.
inner space
The interior from the high baroque period is very elaborate and richly decorated. The interior was designed according to plans and under the direction of the Calabrian artist and Knight of Malta Mattia Preti . He created the intricately carved stone walls and painted the vaults and side altars with scenes from the life of St. John . It is noteworthy that the carvings were created on the spot rather than independently carved and then attached to the walls as usual (e.g. stucco ).
The grave monument of the Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari of Siena can be found near the entrance . He was the nephew of Pope Alexander VII.
The main nave is 53 meters long and 15 meters wide with side chapels. Most of the walls are hung with tapestries.
Chapels
Instead of side aisles, there are eight richly decorated chapels on the sides, each assigned to a "tongue" of the Order of St. John and dedicated to their patron saint.
- Left side
- In the Anglo-Bavarian chapel, formerly a reliquary chapel, relics of knights from several centuries were collected.
- The Provence chapel is dedicated to St. Michael .
- The French chapel shows the conversion of the Apostle Paul . It was rebuilt in the 19th century. Here are the grave monuments of the Grand Masters Fra Adrien de Wignacourt and Fra Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc .
- The Italian chapel is dedicated to the patron saint of Italy: Catherine of Siena .
- The German chapel is dedicated to the Epiphany and the Three Kings , whose relics are venerated in Cologne Cathedral . The painting was created by the Maltese painter Stefano Erardi.
- right side
- The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, formerly the Chapel of Our Lady of Filermos , has the image of Our Lady of Carafa, which is a copy of the Lady of Lanciano. The cremated bodies of Fra Gian Francesco Abela and Fra Flaminio Balbiano lie under the chapel.
- The Auvergne chapel is dedicated to Saint Sebastian . Here is the tomb of Fra Annet de Clermont-Gessant .
- The Chapel of Aragon is dedicated to St. George . The portrait was created by Mattia Oreti and is one of his masterpieces. In the chapel are the graves of the Grand Masters Fra Martin de Redin , Fra Raphael Cotoner , Fra Nicolas Cotoner and Fra Ramon Perellos y Roccaful .
- The Chapel of Castile, León and Portugal is dedicated to James the Elder ( Sant 'Iago ). The tombs of this chapel are those of Fra Antonio Manoel de Vilhena and Fra Manuel Pinto de Fonseca .
Main altar
Side altar
Chapel of Italy
Chapel of Aragon
Graves
Works of art
One of the most important works of the church is The Beheading of John the Baptist (1608) by Caravaggio (1571–1610). It is one of the artist's masterpieces and besides the head of Medusa from 1596 is the only signed painting by the master. Both signatures are integrated into the blood of the beheaded. The painting was restored in Florence in the late 1990s .
Another work of art in the cathedral is the collection of marble tombstones in the center of the nave, where many important knights were buried. The most important knights are buried near the entrance. The tombstones are decorated with the respective coats of arms of the knights, skeletons and skulls as well as stories of victory from their battles. 375 grave slabs were sunk into the ground. Most of the graves of the grand masters are in the crypt . Their sarcophagi are among the “most perfect works of art of the high baroque”.
Further works of art can be found in the adjoining cathedral museum. Robes, tapestries by Grand Master Ramon Perello y Roccaful, paintings by Grand Masters Jean de la Cassiere, Nicola Cotoner and Manuel Pinto de Fonseca, and the painting St. George killing the dragon by Francesco Potenzano are on display here .
organ
The organ was built in 1960 by the Mascioni organ building company. The instrument has 38 stops on three manuals and a pedal . The playing and stop actions are electric.
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See also
literature
- Dane Munro: Memento mori. A companion to the most beautiful floor in the world . MJ Publications, Valletta 2005 (two volumes).
Individual evidence
Web links
- Official website (English)
- St. John's Co-Cathedral - description on www.come2-malta.com (German) with a map of the graves of German Knights of Malta
- Entry on wiki-de.genealogy.net
Coordinates: 35 ° 53 ′ 51.7 " N , 14 ° 30 ′ 45.3" E