Valletta Cathedral, known as St John's Cathedral, that is, consecrated in honour of St John the Baptist, appeared in the main city of the Knights of Malta between 1573 and 1578, during the reign of Grand Master Jean de la Cassiere. The construction of the most important temple of the Maltese Knights was given to the permanent architect of the Order, Girolamo Cassar. The austere, ascetic external appearance of the baroque building is in sharp contrast to its rich interior decoration. Above the central portal you can see the balcony, from where the Grand Master, taking office, made a solemn speech. The spires of the two bell towers were damaged during the bombing raids of the Second World War and were never restored.
There is a fee to enter the Cathedral. When buying a ticket you can take an audio guide, including in Russian. A tour of the cathedral lasts about an hour.
Each master, who headed the Order of Malta, had to donate to the cathedral some relic or valuable work of art. Therefore, the rectangular nave of the temple with eight side chapels, rather resembles a jewellery box than the usual interior of a house of God. Every visitor to the cathedral first of all pays attention to the floor, where brightly coloured tombstones of the order's elite are installed. There are approximately 400 burials here. Each slab depicts the iconic symbols of the order, Latin sayings, knightly mottos and much more. A member of the Order and painter Mattia Preti worked on the painted vault, which depicts a fresco on the theme of the life of St John the Baptist. The main attraction of the temple is considered to be Caravaggio's original painting "The Beheading of St John the Baptist".
