ST. JOHN'S CO-CATHEDRAL

This splendid Church was built between 1573 and 1577 during this reign of Grandmaster Jean De La Cassiere. St John's, which was the order's conventual's church, was accorded Co- Cathedral status (the main Cathedral being the one at Mdina) by Pope Pius VII, in 1816.

The exterior of the church is rather austere, but the interior is a blaze of baroque architecture and sculpture. The massive vault is painted by Mattia Preti, in illustrating episodes from the life of St John the Baptist. The spacious nave is flanked on either chapel of the various langues of the order. The chapels are decorates with sumptuous monuments of the grandmasters and the precious works of art.

Both the church an it's oratory are paved with marble tombstones, under which lie the remains of the knights. There are all together 364 slabs, all of which bear Latin inscriptions exalting the merits and deeds of the Knights of the Order.

The Oratory, which forms part of the Church, is noted for Caravaggio's masterpiece 'The Beheading of St. John'. Another excellent Caravaggio painting, 'St. Jerome', can be seen at the chapel of Italy inside the Church.

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