St John's Cathedral Valletta, Malta

St. John’s Co-Cathedral 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. The church was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who was also responsible for the construction of many important buildings in Valletta. The interior of the church is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe. The church’s interior was modestly decorated for the first century of its existence. However, in the 1660s, Grand Master Raphael Cotoner ordered the redecoration of the interior so as to rival the churches of Rome. Calabrian artist Mattia Preti was in charge of the embellishment, and effectively completely transformed the interior in the Baroque style. The annexes on the side of the cathedral were added later and feature the coat of arms of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena who reigned from 1722 to 1736. St. John’s remained the conventual church of the Order until the latter was expelled from Malta with the French occupation in 1798. Over time, the church grew to equal prominence with the archbishop’s cathedral at Mdina. In the 1820s, the Bishop of Malta was allowed to use St John’s as an alternative see and it thus formally became a co-cathedral. The cathedral is open to visitors on weekdays from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm and on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

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