The Foundation of St John’s Co-Cathedral has embarked on building its new museum. This flagship project will recast the ageing display of the Co-Cathedral’s treasures.

The museum will set the tone for what promises to be a primary exhibition of the finest European fine art collection in the south-central Mediterranean. The museum has been planned to serve as a cultural beacon at the heart of Valletta, one of Malta’s Unesco World Heritage properties and capital of culture for 2018.

The religious and cultural objects in the foundation’s care represent some of the finest artistic expressions Europe has ever seen. To display such a singular repertoire is a challenge which itself is as unique as it is important to achieve.

Studies on the project have been under way for several years. The collections of St John’s include, among others, 29 Flemish tapestries woven to cartoons by Rubens, paintings by Caravaggio, Mattia Preti and other masters, a number of historic sacred vestments, a silver collection, illuminated manuscripts, and a cappella ardente designed by none other than Carapecchia.

The Tapestry Chamber will be the highlight of the museum, exhibiting the entire set of Flemish tapestries, the largest 17th-century series based on the creations of the world-renowned artist Peter Paul Rubens

A Caravaggio Centre is also planned as part of the new museum experience. The centre will focus on the life and works of the most celebrated artist of the Baroque era, whose most prestigious painting, The Beheading of St John, adorns the Oratory.

The new museum will look to the future in terms of its underlying museographic philosophy. The desired scenario will be achieved by a series of design sessions led by myself as project leader and our curatorial department. These bring together architects and museum designers to create a layout that is contemporary with future ge­ne­rations in mind. The foundation, among others, has the objective to create an organisation that has the skills and tools in envisioning a museum that reflects the 21st century.

An artist’s impression of the interior layout of the museum.

The precincts that have evolved to house St John’s, its adjacent buildings, art galleries and spaces are an important landmark in a cultural landscape that reso­nates beyond Malta’s shores.

Montrances in the reserve collection will be on display.

The museum will perpetuate the legacy of the Knights of St John who were the driving force behind the making of Malta’s modern history. Their conventual church served as the epicentre of their existence and was the most visible statement intended to perpetuate the Order’s legacy. Unlike most other churches and chapels in Malta and Gozo, St John’s became a microcosmic reflection of European art and culture.

The entrance to the new museum will be from Merchants Street through the modern arches built in the post-World War II decades. This area will serve as the visitors’ foyer which will house the ticketing desk and security systems. Once inside the foyer a visitor can browse through the bookshop and collect an audio guide or ask for any assistance from the information desk. Climate control will provide comfort and serve as an important conservation element.

The commemorative monument to the Knights who fell in the Great Siege will be the backdrop to the entrance and will be the focus of attention as visitors enter the courtyard. After dark, passersby will be able to enjoy the view of the interior space which will be appropriately lit during the evening.

A reliquary dating to the Knights’ stay in Rhodes, currently not on show, will be exhibited.

A reliquary dating to the Knights’ stay in Rhodes, currently not on show, will be exhibited.

A visitor may either enter the church or move on to the museum where, on the ground floor, the Cappella Ardente, a unique wooden baroque structure used for funerary occasions, will be displayed. One will find information here to understand the feeling of awe and intense spirituality created when the Cappella Ardente was used by the Knights.

On a gallery above one will be able to admire the structure on different levels and feast one’s senses on the choral books, the display of which will be accompanied by the enchanting music they hold among their beautiful illuminated parchment leaves.

An imposing staircase will lead directly to the Tapestry Chamber on the first floor. The chamber will be the highlight of the museum, exhibiting the entire set of Flemish tapestries, a set that is the largest 17th-century series based on the creations of the world-renowned artist Peter Paul Rubens. The display of this dazzling set of tapestries in the correct conservation environment where they can be enjoyed and studied – after their painstakingly delicate and costly restoration – will be a unique and dazzling experience.

The Caravaggio Centre will bring an enlightening experience and a wealth of knowledge about Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and the largest and most important work by this renown and intriguing artist

The Church possesses a number of historic sacred vestments of great magnificence made from silk brocade cloth and exquisitely embroidered with gold and silver threads, with ornate and intricate flower designs, embellished with the coat-of-arms of the Order and those of the respective donors.

The Carapecchia corridor, originally intended as a robing chamber, will now serve to house several vestments that have been stored away for decades. These robes are particularly striking due to their extensive use of symbolism, an important artistic tool used during the Baroque period to educate, elevate and enthral.

An artist’s impression of the silver vaults.

The Bartolott crypt, which lies beneath the Oratory and is currently not accessible to the public, will be transformed into an area housing treasures not on display due to lack of space. Among others there will be an exquisite crystal monstrance and a coral monstrance used during the liturgy to display the host during the celebration of the Eucharist, a reliquary that once held a relic of St John the Baptist, and other church silverware.

The projected Caravaggio Centre is intended to enhance the international appeal and visibility of the new museum. The centre will bring an enlightening experience and a wealth of knowledge about Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and the largest and most important work by this renown and intriguing artist. This centre will be highly informative, where the visual interactive educational means will arouse curiosity and provide an exciting and enjoyable experience that appeals to all ages and levels of knowledge.

The Cappella Ardente, restored but currently in storage, will be on display.

Appropriate lighting, climate control, and reading areas will also be introduced. The new and spacious entrance to St John’s Co-Cathedral Museum will provide comfortable facilities for visitors and easy accessibility for the physically challenged. The extension will have no direct impact on the church, designed is such a way that will allow flexible opening hours of the museum.

The museum will care for its artefacts by treating them as personalities and give them ‘personhood’ as if they have legal or moral rights. By doing so the priceless collections will be exhibited as well as conserved for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.

The new layout will give visitors an engaging and comfortable visit that is now expected by the experienced traveller. Augmented virtual reality has changed how people want to experience museums in the future. Thus the visitors’ experience will be enhanced with interactive features and other modern mediums to attract new audiences. In this manner the relevance of the collections will be kept alive in an age of distraction and media saturation.

The envisaged museum experience will bring what contemporary audiences want most – intelligent leisure time.

To be concluded.

Cynthia de Giorgio is curator and museum project leader of St John’s Co-Cathedral.