St. John's Co-Cathedral

This was the only major sight left to see. In fact I had a glimpse of it during Sunday services, but photographs were not allowed then. I debated with myself whether I wanted to pay to view and take pictures. In the end I decided to because an audio guide was included in the admission.

Why is St. John's a Co-Cathedral you ask, as did I. Well, in short it means the bishop's seat is shared between two cathedrals, in this case the other one is in Mdina.

By the way St. John's is not the one that has the dome in skyline photos of Valletta. That's the Basilica next to the Anglican St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral.

But before that I attended the noontime firing of the Saluting Battery near the Upper Barrakka Gardens. One can pay to view from closer but it's otherwise free.

After lunch the crowds were thinner at the entrance. As it turned out, the long queue was for groups. As an individual I walked right up to the ticket counter.

The interior was very impressive, though I can't say that I like Baroque.

There was so much detail that if there were a dictionary entry for High Baroque, it would be a picture of the interior of St. John's.

In the foreground are the elaborately decorated tombstones of the Knights.

If Baroque is your sort of thing, then ask me to show you the numerous other photos I took of the nave and side chapels. It would take more than a blog entry to do St. John's justice.