Malta! (Relaxing Day - Kind of…)
May 15, 2023
Our last day in Malta! We had free time until our airport shuttle at 4pm so we were able to visit a few of the many cathedral and churches. I should have mentioned yesterday that it is so nice to hear all of the church bells instead of the Islamic call to prayer!
St Paul’s Pro Cathedral in Valletta was first. Pro cathedral means that this Anglican Church has cathedral status but isn’t the main cathedral of the city. We have some exterior pictures, but unfortunately this cathedral isn’t open to the public and there was no service today.
St Johns Co Cathedral is the largest in Valletta and I’m sure the most opulent Baroque style cathedral in Malta. Originally built in 1578, it was redone in the Barogue style in the late 1600s. It’s huge, but it isn’t the size that overwhelms - it’s that every inch is covered in tapestry and paintings and frescos with bronze and marble sculpture everywhere. There are two famous Caravaggio paintings. The Beheading of St John the Baptist is the largest painting, and only one signed, by Caravaggio. The other Caravaggio is St Jerome Writing. Both are early 1600s. Caravaggio spend some of the last years of his life on Malta.
The marble floors are tombstones for many important knights and members of the order of St John buried beneath the floor. Inscriptions and marble inlaid coats of arms everywhere on the floors.
The tapestries are incredible, much like the hall of tapestries in the Vatican museum. There are nine side chapels in addition to the main nave.
We also stepped into a little church, we thought it would be little, with unimposing door, and discovered incredible beauty there as well. A little unusual, all of the signage was in Maltese ( most signage in Malta is in English) and there were a few worshippers at the back, so just one picture.
The Sanctuary Church of Our Lady of Mount Caramel is of a more soothing style for my taste and also incredibly beautiful.
Next we took a cab back to St Paul’s Bay to try and find the little St Paul’s Shipwreck church. We found it - not open - but a lovely exterior with bronze reliefs around the exterior illustrating from the book of Acts the shipwreck, the fire and snake bite, proclaiming the gospel, the healing of Publius’s father and a farewell as Paul eventually sails on to Rome. The pictures aren’t the clearest, but hopefully you make out some it.
Next cab ride took us to another part of the island, Marsaxlokk Bay. A fishing bay with quaint little restaurants, but also a refinery at the end of the bay - an odd assortment here.
Final site a few of us went to is of the “Three Cities” near Valletta - 3 small walled/fortified cities - quaint pretty streets, much quieter. The one that we saw (Vittoriosa) has a large cathedral complex dedicated to St Lawrence with a couple of small museums holding an odd assortment of church history items and WWII items.
We’ve now survived the chaos of the Malta airport and are flying to Hereklion Crete by way of Athens…. Arrival will be after midnight.
Look Close - Jesus owns this boat!
