Arches of the Nave
St. John’s Co-Cathedral consists of a barrel-vaulted nave buttressed with arches leading to side chapels. Each side chapel belongs to a specific langue of the Order each responsible for the decoration of its own chapel. The walls of these chapels were lavishly carved out of limestone to form relief carvings, which were gilded creating an aura of dazzling brilliance.
Humidity as well as other contributing factors led to considerable deterioration of the surfaces. In 2006 The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation embarked on their restoration. This project was entrusted to Sante Guido. Restauro e Conservazione Opere d’ Arte. Several layers of dirt and grime as well as water infiltrations had to be dealt with in order to reveal the brilliance of the original gold which has not been interfered with. In the lower strata re-gilding was carried out as the damage to these areas was extensive. The cleaning and restoration works were carried out in order to retain the original coherence and beauty of the decoration of the Co-Cathedral.