Kindly note that the Caravaggio Wing at St John’s Co-Cathedral will be closed for visits as from Friday 12^th November until Tuesday 16^th November 2021 (both days inclusive) due to construction works.

The Caravaggio Wing will reopen for visits on Wednesday 17^th November.

The Foundation regrets any inconvenience caused.

The Management

St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

On Thursday 28th and Friday 29th October 2021, a delegation from The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation participated in the 10th Edition of European Cathedrals Conference in Pisa.

Curators, conservators and scientists from Cathedrals in Europe participated in this two-day conference – the first session was held in Malta on the 1st and 2nd of July 2021. The theme of the Pisa session related to ‘Climate, Micro-Climate and Conservation of Cultural Heritage’.

Prof. Mgr Emmanuel Agius, Council Member of the Foundation, noted that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and he is confident that the custodians of these European Cathedrals will benefit if they make use of sustainable conservation on these historical sites, for the sake of future generations. Prof. Mgr Agius has also distributed the ‘The Physiognomy of Cathedrals – Conservation Strategies: Catalogue‘ to all speakers which included the papers of the speakers who presented their findings at the Malta Conference.

Cynthia de Giorgio, CEO and Curator of St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation, emphasised that conservators need to apply ‘planned conservation’ which is crucial to avoid irreversible deterioration caused by abrasion. If this is not addressed, heritage is lost and also denied to future generations.

On Friday, Adriana Alescio, the head conservator and restorer of St John’s Co-Cathedral presented a paper on the restoration and conservation project of the Oratory of the Decollation at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

This conference was organised by the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, in collaboration with The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation (2021).

Kindly note that on Friday 1st, and Wednesday 6th October 2021, St John’s Co-Cathedral, Oratory & Caravaggio Wing will be open as from 10:30 hrs until 16:30 hrs (last entry at 16:00 hrs) due to an Ecclesiastical Function.

The Foundation regrets any inconvenience caused.

The Management

On Tuesday 21 September 2021, on the occasion of Independence Day, Archbishop Charles Scicluna will celebrate a Pontifical Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

No visits will be held during the day. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Management
St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

Photo: Ian Noel Pace – Curia

On Sunday 15 August 2021, on the Feast of The Assumption of Mary into Heaven, Mass will be held in these times:

• 7.45 a.m.; 9.15 a.m.; 11.00 a.m. and at 12.00 p.m. (In English)
• Evening Mass at 5.45 p.m.

No visits will be held during the day.

On Saturday 31st July, The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation marked its 20th anniversary with the launch of a publication on the restoration and conservation carried out at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

The ceremony was addressed by the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Ms Joyce Dimech, the Administrative Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta Mr Michael Pace Ross, and Prof. Mgr. Emmanuel Agius, President of the Foundation.

In his opening address, the President of the Foundation stated that “The scope of this publication is to showcase and record for posterity the extensive and holistic programme of restoration and conservation embarked upon by the Foundation over the past two decades. It seeks to render unequivocal credibility to the vision and foresight of the founding fathers of the Foundation and to the outstanding achievements of that institution. The restoration and conservation projects embarked upon by the Foundation have embraced a wide range of works of art, together with many architectural features of the Church fabric. The list of items covered by these works is indeed impressive: from fine altarpieces to funerary mausolea in marble and bronze; from gilt wall carvings to the exterior masonry of the façade and side walls; from the portal escutcheons to the Lascaris bell and clock mechanism inside the belfries; from the altar canopy, lectern, choir stalls and pulpit, to the Mascioni and Oratory pipe organs and their ornate cases; from the Crucifixion statuary group to the Oratory timber lantern; from the marble doorway to the Oratory to its fine soffit in carved wood; from the chancel balustrades to the marble cladded nave pilasters; from the Cappella Ardente to the Crypt of the Grand Masters; from the priceless Flemish tapestries and the Carapecchia atriums to the stunning marble flooring with its inlaid sepulchral tablets.”

Cynthia de Giorgio, CEO and Curator pointed out that the main aim of the Foundation is the conservation and restoration of the priceless works of art and artefacts preserved within the Co-Cathedral. During the past two decades the Foundation has transformed this historical monument from the state of abandonment to a level of conservation that will ensure its preservation for posterity.

Ms de Giorgio stated that: “It was the teamwork of restorers, conservators, engineers and experts in their own field that worked together during these years to transform the Co-Cathedral to its Baroque pristine beauty. We also recognise all the work done by the Foundation’s employees, from custodians to managers, that contributed to the Foundation’s success story”.

The set of silver statues that once belonged to St John’s Co-Cathedral were returned to the Church and be placed on the high altar for which they were made. The statues will be displayed until 31st July to mark the 20-year anniversary of the Foundation.

Cynthia de Giorgio CEO and Curator said: “This occasion would be a unique opportunity to see the statues in their original context. They were specifically commissioned to embellish the high altar to complete the rich baroque ensemble of the Conventual Church of the Knights of Malta. Although referred to as the Apostolate, the set of fifteen figures includes three additional figures, that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St John the Baptist, and St Mathias”. The first ten statues were completed by 1741 and paid for by the Prior of St Giles, Fra Charles Alemans de Rochenard. The Bailiff of St Stefano, Fra Don Andrea Fortunato di Giovanni intervened and paid for the second group of five statues that were executed between 1742 and 1743. They are the work of the silver smith Antonio Arrighi. Few of Arrighi’s works survive, making this set of great importance for the study of eighteenth-century sculpture.

The statuary group remained on the altar of St John’s Co-Cathedral until 1798 with the arrival of Napoleon and the French army leading to the expulsion of the Order from Malta. Along with many of the precious objects and artefacts in the Co-Cathedral, Arrighi’s statues were included in the despoliation to melt and extract the precious metals, leaving behind only a few silver items for liturgical service. With the intervention of the bishop Vincenzo Labini and the Cathedral Chapter of Mdina, a number of silver items were offered in exchange of the statutes. In 1799, a second ransack at the Co-Cathedral occurred and the Church was left deprived of its precious silver furnishings, however, the statues were once again spared and saved by the Chapter. Prof. Mgr. Emmanuel Agius, President of the Foundation said that “it is incredible that this set of impressive statutes was going to be melted down to coin money to pay the French soldiers. It is exciting to see the statues where they once stood”.

In 1806, the statues were taken to the Cathedral in Mdina. The statutes are now exhibited at the Mdina Cathedral Museum.

A PROJECT MARKING THE 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE ST JOHN’S CO-CATHEDRAL FOUNDATION

On Wednesday 21st July 2021, the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation inaugurated the completion of the restorative works in the oratory and the opening of the Caravaggio Wing, at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

The inaugural event was addressed by the H.G. the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Jude Scicluna, Hon. José Herrera, Minister for Cultural Heritage, the Arts and Local Government; Hon. Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, Parliament Secretary for European Funds, and Prof. Mgr. Emmanuel Agius, President of the Foundation.

The President of the Foundation said that in August 2020 the Council of the Foundation embarked on the ambitious project to restore and conserve the oratory and its late-Baroque embellishments, the soffit and side paintings, and the two apse paintings beside the painting of Caravaggio, the Beheading of St John the Baptist.

Cynthia de Giorgio, CEO and Curator remarked that: “This occasion is a historic and significant landmark because thirteen paintings by Mattia Preti have been restored together with the gilt wooden soffit. Caravaggio’s most significant painting depicting the Beheading of St John the Baptist has been fitted with a new LED lighting system, which will eliminate any damage caused by heat and UV light that was previously emitted by halogen lighting.

Ms de Giorgio added that; “the painting depicting ‘St Jerome Writing’, will be given the space that it merits just as it once graced the walls of Fra’ Ippolito Malaspina’s palazzo, before he left it to the Chapel of Italy after his death in 1624, it will now be exhibited in the Caravaggio Wing where its meticulous details can be appreciated. It is a renewal of the Order of St John’s patrimonial heritage”

THE ORATORY RESTORATION PROJECT

The ambitious oratory restoration and conservation project consisted of:

The stone gilded carvings of the arch and vault in the apse, and the apse mural paintings executed in oil on stone technique representing scenes of the ‘Agony in the Garden’ and ‘Christ tied to the Pillar’;

The two lower paintings in the apse area, executed in oil on canvas technique which represent the first two rectors of the Order: the ‘Blessed Raymond’ and ‘Gerard Kneeling Before The Lamb of God’ and ‘St Flora and Donna Sancha Before The Virgin Mary’ and ten large window decorative frames and trompe-l’oeil adornments.

The variety of artistic techniques and supports employed in the manufacture of these multiple artefacts, as well as the complex series and levels of deteriorations that were present, made the project an exciting adventure.

The oratory has become a pulsating hub of interdisciplinary collaboration, with specialist conservators of the Foundation teaming up with other experts with the sole objective of ensuring the preservation of this important site for the benefit of both current and future generations.

HISTORY

The construction of the oratory began in 1602 during the reign of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt. The Confraternita della Misericordia were also involved and contributed for its construction. It was intended as a place of devotion and meditation for young novices and was completed by 1603. The confraternity used the oratory for their functions and for the investiture of the Knights and other ceremonies which culminated with the Feast of the Beheading of St John on 29 August.

The oratory was given its present appearance in the 1680s during a major decorative intervention between 1679 and 1690 ten paintings by Mattia Preti depicting Saints of the Order and a gilt wooden soffit were added. The marble cladding interior was added in 1740.

THE CARAVAGGIO WING

Besides the St Jerome Room, visitors can watch ‘Meet Caravaggio’: a short docu-drama on the life of the Artist in Malta between July 1607 and October 1608, first as a novice, later as a Knight of Obedience and his dramatic escape from imprisonment in Fort
St Angelo.

In 2019, when the historic doorway that once led to the Grand Prior’s house was opened, the former premises were reunited with the oratory.

The Caravaggio Wing project was part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. Eighty percent funded by the European Union, and twenty percent by the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation.

The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation notifies prospective bidders to submit an offer for:

TENDER FOR RESTORATION AND MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL WORKS
FOR THE BARTOLOTT CRYPT AT THE ST JOHN’S CO-CATHEDRAL MUSEUM IN RELATION TO THE PROJECT ERDF.PA5.0109

This project is being financed through EU Funds.

(Ref: STJCF006/21)

Click here to download the Publication of Award. 

Click here to download Schedule of Offers Received

Click here to download the Tender Document STJCF006/21

Click here to download the Supporting Documents

Site Visit for: 28 July 2021, at 11.00 am

Closing date: Tuesday 24 August 2021 at 2:00 pm

For more details call 21220536 or email: info@stjohnscocathedral.com

CLARIFICATIONS

Please click here to download Clarification 1.

The attached documents as listed below also were also updated:

– #16a BOQs in Excel – updated through Clarification 1
– #16b BOQs in PDF – updated through Clarification 1
– #29 Photos Annex – updated through Clarification 1

Click here to download Clarification 2.

Click here to download Clarification 3.

The attached documents as listed below also were also updated:

– #16a BOQs in excel – updated through Clarification 3
– #16b BOQs in PDF – updated through Clarification 3

Submit your clarifications online at info@stjohnscocathedral.com