St. John's Co-Cathedral

After spending most of the day visiting prehistoric religious sites, I wanted to see St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, which is considered an impressive example of Baroque design. On the outside, the church is stately, but simple.
After observing this simple exterior, the incredibly ornate interior is almost shocking! Every inch of the walls and ceilings is covered with intricate carvings and beautiful paintings, primarily designed by Mattia Preti, a member of the Order of St. John (more on that in a minute). The ceiling tells the story of St. John, with eighteen scenes from his life. The sides of the church are divided into eight chapels, each dedicated to one of the langues (or sections) of the Order of St. John. Even the floor of the cathedral is decorated with intricate marble tombstones of members of the Order of St. John.

Main altar

Chapel of Italy, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria

Chapel of Germany, dedicated to the Epiphany of Christ

Tombstones in the floor of the cathedral

Now, although I loved exploring the symbolism and detail in the artwork around the cathedral, what I really found fascinating about St. John's was the history of the Order of St. John's, which was also known as the Knights of Malta or the Knights Hospitaller. The Order was founded around 1080 in Jerusalem to provide care for poor and injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. During the Crusades, the Order became a religious-military order with the purpose of protecting Holy Land, but after the Holy Land was conquered by Islamic forces, the Order was forced to move its headquarters and eventually landed in Malta. The history of the Order seems filled with stories of riches, military forces, religious relics, European monarchies, piracy and all those things that fill the pages of books like the DaVinci Code.