On Wednesday I started the day in Malta by taking the ferry back to Valletta and going to St. John’s Co-Cathedral. This was one of the “must see” buildings and it certainly was impressive. When I went inside it was pretty crowded with lots of tour groups, but I really enjoyed the in depth audio tour.
The building was built by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century, and was initially very plain, but over time they added much more decoration to the interior once that was the style of the time. This created a mismatched look between the plain exterior and ornate interior that is pretty unique among many other cathedrals. Going around to all the chapels I learned that each one was dedicated to a different division of the Order of St. John. There was a French area, a German area, an Italian area, etc., and each was decorated with symbols representing the country, as well as monuments for various Grand Masters of the Order. You can also see the eight pointed cross many places, which is the symbol of the Knights of St. John.
In addition to the beautiful architecture and decoration, the co-cathedral is also well known for having a couple Caravaggio paintings, including the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, which was his only work that he signed. There was a whole section set up more like a museum with an exhibit and video about Caravaggio which was really interesting. He had quite a temper and killed a man in Italy, so was sentenced to death in Rome, but once the Knights of St. John heard about his amazing painting they offered for him to come live there (and pardon him) if he would paint for them. However, he soon got in another fight and was arrested and expelled. But, he did leave behind some amazing works of art!
After leaving the co-cathedral I needed to make my way to the Hypogeum for my tour that I had booked the day before. It was only a short drive away, and the building was hidden amongst normal shops and houses. I really had no idea what to expect, and they did not allow any photos inside so you’ll have to trust my description. They only take about 10 people into the tour at a time, several times a day, which is why it sells out so quickly. When we got inside they had us put on shoe covers and we watched a short introduction video about when the Hypogeum was discovered. There were houses built on top and when a worker was cutting down into the ground below he found a large network of underground rooms and caves that were built over 5000 years ago (older than the pyramids)!
They explained that when it was discovered the archeologists found lots of human remains and bones that showed that parts of it were most likely used for some sort of burial rituals. Now those have been taken out, but we could walk on elevated walkways through multiple levels of the caverns, looking at some remaining paintings, carvings, and structure that was created so long ago. There was an audio tour that played as we were ushered from room to room and it pointed out some of the unique features that we were seeing and gave some possible explanations for what the structure was used for, but of course no one knows for sure. One of the things that I found most interesting was that they created doorways and ceilings completely underground that are similar to other Neotlithic structures, but much better preserved. They also did not have metal tools at the time, so it is even more impressive to understand how much skill and time it would have taken to create these structures. There was also a room that was designed to resonate at a certain frequency, which was very interesting and also gives more possible context as to what these types of structures were used for.
After this tour I walked to a nearby cafe for a quick lunch with a view of the local church, then I walked to the nearby Tarxien Temples, which is another Neolithic site built around 3400 BC. This time it was completely outdoors but covered with large tents. This also had an audio tour, so I walked around the site and listened to that which was also fascinating.
After finishing up there I took the bus back to Sliema, did some souvenir shopping, and of course got a bubble tea! At night I found a local restaurant that served fried shrimp and had a delicious dinner to round out day 2 in Malta.
Hammond Adventures 