#Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann

[hsundholm]

Saint John's Co-Cathedral by Henrik Sundholm Via Flickr: Visiting Saint John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta. They have two Caravaggios, so of course I did!

#Saint John's Co-Cathedral #Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann #interior #church #nave #basilica #archs #ceiling #vault #windows #valletta #malta #hdr #architecture #flickr

[aloneinstitute]

𝔖𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔱 𝔍𝔬𝔥𝔫'𝔰 ℭ𝔬-ℭ𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔩 ⛪

St John's Co-Cathedral (Maltese: Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1572 and 1577, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conventual Church of Saint John (Maltese: Knisja Konventwali ta' San Ġwann).

Style :

Mannerist (exterior)

Baroque (interior)

The church was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. In the 17th century, its interior was redecorated in the Baroque style by Mattia Preti and other artists. The interior of the church is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.

The cathedral's interior is extremely ornate, standing in sharp contrast with the façade. The interior was largely decorated by Mattia Preti, the Calabrian artist and knight, at the height of the Baroque period. Preti designed the intricate carved stone walls and painted the vaulted ceiling and side altars with scenes from the life of John the Baptist. The figures painted into the ceiling next to each column initially appear to the viewer as three-dimensional statues, but on closer inspection we see that the artist cleverly created an illusion of three-dimensionality by his use of shadows and placement. Also noteworthy is the fact that the carving was all undertaken in-place (in-situ) rather than being carved independently and then attached to the walls (stucco). The Maltese limestone from which the Cathedral is built lends itself particularly well to such intricate carving. The whole marble floor is an entire series of tombs, housing about 400 Knights and officers of the Order. There is also a crypt containing the tombs of Grand Masters like Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Claude de la Sengle, Jean Parisot de Valette, and Alof de Wignacourt.

#Malta #Valletta

[kappavision]

Ever wondered why there is a balcony on the façade of St. John's Co-Cathedral? St. John's Co-Cathedral (il-Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic church in the capital city of Malta, Valletta, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1572 and 1577, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conventual Church of St. John (il-knisja Konventwali ta' San Ġwann). The church was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. It is held that Cassar went to Rhodes to bring a plan of an already existing church that was by then converted to a mosque, to use it as a model for the present co-cathedral. THE BALCONY & THE EXTERIOR The cathedral's exterior is built in the Mannerist style typical of its architect Girolamo Cassar. Its façade is rather plain but well-proportioned, being bounded by two large bell towers. The doorway is flanked by Doric columns supporting an open balcony. The reasoning behind the inclusion of the balcony on the church’s façade was that from it, the new Grand Master would be announced every time one was elected. It was also used by the Grand Master to address the people on important occasions. On the side are also two empty niches. The niches and the columns are a break with the rest of exterior Mannerist architecture. Overall, the exterior is rather austere and reminiscent of a fortress, reflecting both Cassar's style as a military engineer as well as the Order's mood in the years following the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. Once construction St. John's was completed in 1577, it became the new conventual church of the Order instead of St. Lawrence's Church in the Knight's former headquarters Birgu. Construction of the oratory and sacristy began in 1598, during the magistracy of Martin Garzez, and they were completed by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt in 1604. In 1831, Sir Walter Scott called the cathedral a "magnificent church, the most striking interior [he had] ever seen”. (at St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL_n8EqHeJD/?igshid=1r58kre5ij9xe

[ricisidro]

#WednesdayWisdom #TodayIs the #FeastDay of the #BeheadingofStJohntheBaptis #PassionofStJohntheBaptist #JohnTheBaptist began baptising people in the River Jordan, calling them to prepare themselves with this act of penance for the imminent coming of the Messiah, which God had revealed to them during their wanderings in the desert of Judaea. This is why he was called the “Baptist”, the “Baptiser” (Mt 3:1-6). When one day Jesus himself came from Nazareth to be baptised, John at first refused but then consented; he saw the Holy Spirit settle on Jesus and heard the voice of the heavenly Father proclaiming him His Son (Mt 3:13-17). However, the Baptist’s mission was not yet complete. Shortly afterwards he was also asked to precede Jesus in a violent death: John was beheaded in King Herod’s prison and thus bore a full witness to the Lamb of God who had recognised him and publicly pointed him out beforehand. The Beheading of St John the Baptist by Michelangelo Caravaggio (ca 1608) #painting #art in the Kon-Katidral ta’ San Ġwann, #Valletta, #Malta #God #Jesus #HolySpirit #Bible #StJohntheBaptist #PreCursor (#ForeRunner) to #Christ (at Saint John's Co-Cathedral) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnDn_H8Agyu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=akoxpinpg7mn

#wednesdaywisdom #todayis #feastday #beheadingofstjohnthebaptis #passionofstjohnthebaptist #johnthebaptist #painting #art #valletta #malta #god #jesus #holyspirit #bible #stjohnthebaptist #precursor #forerunner #christ