This section is from the book "Malta - John L. Stoddard's Lectures", by John L. Stoddard. Also available from Amazon: John L. Stoddard's Lectures 13 Volume Set.
Silver Gate In St. John's Church.
Chapel Of Our Lady Of Ph1lermos In St. John's Church.
Looking at length above me, I discovered that the ceiling of this church was as remarkable as its pavement. The curving roof of the main aisle is separated by moldings of gilded palm branches into seven zones, all radiant with brilliant colors, and peopled with a multitude of life-like forms. These large pictorial panels, which portray the most important scenes in the career of John the Baptist, span the broad nave like a suecession of magnificent bridges, filled with animated life; while grouped around them is a kind of portrait framework of martyrs, saints, and knightly heroes, recalling prominent episodes and persons in the Order's history. Even if one had not already bared his head in reverence for the sanctuary, he would assuredly remove his hat in presence of this masterpiece. What is the secret of its wonderful impressiveness? A hundred connoisseurs may possibly explain, but who can equal it? The fact remains that, though the artist merely painted on the stone with oil colors, such were his skill and judgment of perspective that his figures seem to stand out from the roof, as if they had been sculptured there in bold relief. This could have been no easy task, for it com m e m o -rates the labor of a lifetime. Thirty-nine years of one man's patient toil were necessary to produce it; and, what is still more marvelous, it was a work of love. The Italian artist, Mattia Preti, refused pecuniary compensation for this masterpiece, content and proud to have created it; and when he died, a poor, but honored and beloved old man, the Order buried him among the Knights, whom he had served so faithfully, and under the resplendent roof which in his thoughts and love had almost rivaled Heaven. It is not only on the ceiling that we are here reminded of the saint whose name this temple bears. Behind the great high altar, which is rich with silver, gold, carved lapis-lazuli, and precious marbles, hangs the famous painting by Cara-vaggio, portraying the beheading of the Baptist; and near it stands an admirable marble group, which represents the Baptism of Christ by St. John at the Jordan. Here, too, was formerly kept the relic most revered and valued by the Knights -the right hand of their patron, originally brought from Antioch, where John had been decapitated, to Constantinople, when that city had become the capital of the Eastern church. Many years later, when the Turks had gained possession of this relic, it was sent by the Sultan Bajazet to the Grand Master as a bribe to induce the latter to surrender to him his brother, who, as a rival claimant to the Turkish throne, had fled to Rhodes to seek assistance from the Christians. Although the prince was not surrendered by the Knights, the saint's hand was retained by them ; and when they changed their residence to Malta, it was brought hither with the greatest care. Then for two centuries and a half it lay upon the altar of this church in a magnificent gauntlet of pure gold, adorned with costly gems, and in particular with a ring clasping a diamond of remarkable beauty. The diamond was confiscated by Napoleon ; but the saintly relic was conveyed to St.
Interior Of The Church Of St. John.
The Public Library, Valetta.
Interior Of The Public Library.
Petersburg and presented to the Tsar Paul I., who had been made the nominal Grand Master of the moribund Fraternity. There any tourist may see it in the Winter Palace of the Romanoffs beside the Neva.
One of the most renowned and sumptuous features of this church is its collection of tapestries, the gift of the Grand Master, Perellos, in 1701, and specially manufactured for the Order by the finest Flemish artists. A strange fatality has followed these rare pieces of embroidery. On their way out to Malta, they were captured by Mohammedan pirates; and for their ransom the munificent donor was compelled to pay exactly the same sum which they had cost him at Brussels; so that, instead of merely the original price of thirty thousand dollars, the actual amount expended for them was sixty thousand. Still worse than this, however, was the calamity that befell them less than a score of years ago, when it was found that all their lighter colored portions, woven in silk, were so completely ruined that they crumbled into powder at a touch. Such experts as the director of the Gobelins factory in France were immediately consulted; and, although by their advice the restoration of the fabrics was at once begun, the repairs required seven years for their completion, and cost the government fifteen thousand dollars. Through fear of further damage therefore, these beautiful embroideries are now displayed to the public for only a few days once a year, the time selected for the exhibition being unfortunately in the month of June, when all the tourists have departed, and even most of the wealthy residents have left the island. Hence, as the law now stands, but few spectators have an opportunity of seeing these elaborate speci-mens of Flemish art, during their annual, brief exposure to the light of day.
 
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