I took the ferry across to Valletta, with no plans other than to explore old town inside the stone walls. After walking around for a while, I peeked inside a doorway only to discover a beautiful church. From first glance it looked amazing, so I thought what the heck, I’ll head on in. As it turns out, I spent a morning in the crypt & on the balcony at St. John’s Co Cathedral in Valletta.
Getting There
This will sound strange, as it does to me writing it now, but the building is very unassuming from the exterior. So much so, that I went up to the exit door first, before I noticed a sign saying it was exit only.
I think because the streets are so narrow, even though this is a cathedral, one cannot get a view from afar. The grandeur of the building is lost when you are standing right beside it.
Even so, the church is quite easy to find once you have located Merchant’s Street. This street is the one most visitors will enjoy walking up and down as it is bustling with shops and cafes and is the place to be.
St John’s Co Cathedral has a large footprint and there are cordoned off areas at both the entrance and exit. It is surrounded by other tourist attractions such as the Museum of Archaeology, the Courthouse and MUZA, the Museum of Fine Arts. Find any of these places, and you will be at the church within one block.
The cost to enter is 15 Euro or about $20 CAD. I thought this was a bit steep for a church but I wanted to see inside, so pay I must. Each visitor is provided with a hand held recorder and a headset with which to listen to an informative program.
The Art
One of my favourite artists is Caravaggio, and this cathedral houses two of his paintings! Hence, my strong desire to visit. One piece is massive and the other smaller, but both are stunning.
They are both located inside a dark alcove near the rear of the cathedral.
There are many other works of art, both paintings and sculptures. The decorative flourishes covering every surface are in themselves beautiful ostentatious art.
The Floor
Hands down, my favourite thing about this cathedral aside from the Caravaggio’s. The floor of the church is entirely covered, with over 400 tombstones of knights, each decorated with coloured marble.
I went around the church twice. Once to look at everything, including the exquisite ceiling. The second time, with my head down, eyes devouring the floor. It was magnificent.
The Grand Masters Crypt
Be on the lookout for this, I almost missed it. It is a small dark stairwell near one corner of the church. Only four people can descend at a time. At the bottom of the staircase you can peer into the darkness at a beautiful painted ceiling and various raised and decorated tombs. Absolutely beautiful.
The Balcony
I almost missed this as well. The entrance to the staircase is in a far corner, near the Caravaggio’s. Take the 45 spiral stone stairs straight up and you enter out onto a narrow balcony.
Looking down, you will see the main part of the cathedral in its entirety.
Don’t forget to peek back behind you. Those large paintings that you were looking up at from the floor? Several are now within hands reach and are right behind your head! The perspective of these paintings which are meant to be viewed from the ground, is very cool.
I went to the cathedral in the morning, it was probably around 10:00 when I arrived. It was getting fairly full by the time I was ready to leave and not entirely pleasant to be inside. And this is off season. Granted it is close to Easter so crowds are heavier than they would have been a couple of weeks ago.
Its lovely, really lovely, worth the money even on a skinny budget like mine.
