The Catcher in the Sand

I love visiting art museums and I love to do it in places which are not necessarily on the beaten track of the art circuit. Of course, the big museums of the world have their fascination, complexity and completeness, but as there are big cathedrals and small churches there are also the bigger and the smaller museums, and the feeling of spirituality for the art lover as for the religious person can be reached whatever the dimensions of the building and of the institution.

Bonnefantenmuseum - the exterior

Actually the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht is not a small institution. In a country and in a geographical area with big art museums and brilliant schools of painting from the Reanaissance until the contemporary times, the museum in Maastricht was founded in 1884 and hosted by the bons enfants (‘good children’) monastery which gives it the name. Today’s building was designed by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi, and it’s original exterior shape reminding somehow an astronomical observatory became one of the landmarks of the landscape of the city on the Maas. Three levels host a collection of fine arts that combines various styles and time periods, from the medieval religious art to contemporary art.

Bonnefantenmuseum - the interior

One of the things that makes Bonnefantenmuseum different is the refuse to present its permanent collection in a chronological order as well as the absence of the categorization of art in epochs and styles that usually guide and lead the visiting experience in the majority of the other museums. The collections of modern art and old masters, medieval and contemporary objects are mixed and as a visitor you exit from one hall and you enter another representing a totally different epoch and style, permanently jumping in time ahead and back. Each new hall represents a surprise, a different epoch, a new experience that allows you to relate to the objects without necessary following the usual didactic path. It’s an Augenspiel (play of the eyes) – concept inspired by a quote from Elias Canetti’s memoirs.

Here are a few pieces I loved most, and I will follow the same technique as in the exhibition, not presenting them in any particular order.

Census at Bethlehem

Census at Bethlehem belongs to the atelier of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, and dates from the beginning of the 17th century. It is believed to belong to the a large extent to the master himself, and inspired by a well known work of the painter’s father. Bethlehem is represented in the tradition of the Flemish masters, as a typical Flemish village in winter.

Rene Daniels - Painting on the Flag

Rene Daniels is a Dutch contemporary painter born in 1950, and he has one full hall of works in the museum. Painting on a Flag was painted during his stay in New York. It is a dialog with the flags paintings of American artists like Jasper Johns (the Dutch and the American flags have the same colors), but also an interesting work by itself with several layers of painting the older one still visible and a game of perspective that catches the eyes.

Two Pharisees

Woodcarving of religious statues is an art well developed in the area, and the Two Pharisees from an Antwerp atelier in the 16th century are a good example.

Saint Catherine of Siena

The 15th century representation of Saint Catherine of Siena belongs to Sano di Pietro, one of the outstanding pieces in the room dedicated to the works of the early Renaissance.

Anselm Kiefer - Le Dormeur du Val

Jumping into contemporaneity we can see one outstanding work of the German artist Anselm Kiefer. Kiefer is one of the most interesting artists in Germany today, dealing with the painful issues of the recent history of Germany including the war and the Holocaust, in a very expressive and daring style.

Head of Saint John the Baptist

English religious art in alabaster has a room of itself with several outstanding pieces among which the allegoric Head of Saint John the Baptist. The unusual style of these pieces are very much worth the attention, I knew very little about the style and the period (15th century) when Nottingham was exporting such works in all the Western Europe.

Altarpiece

Altarpieces combining painting ans sculpture are a genre that florished in the Flemish area around the year 1500. It cannot missed from any serious collection of all Flemish art – here is one piece created in Antwerp arounf 1518.

Sandra Vasquez de la Horra - drawing

Bonnefantenmuseum also hosted two temporary exhibitions. The first included drawings of the Chilean artist Sandra Vasquez de la Horra – combining a fantastic and macabre vision of the world with strongly opinionated political messages.

Sandra Vasquez de la Horra - La Zorpa Manca

Many of her drawings are grouped, and make sense as a whole as well as individual works. They call to close examination and reflection – unfortunately I had too little time and I need to get back some time in the future to look more carefully to the work of the artist.

Pierre Kemp - Fourrures

The second exhibition belongs to the Pierre Kemp, a local of Maastricht, who is also known as one of the finest Dutch poets of the 20th century. The exhibition here comes maybe as a surprise for part of the Dutch audiences, but for the less advised non-Dutch viewer Kemp is certainly an accomplished and mature artist.

Pierre Kemp - Concerns

His Fourrures dated 1929 are sophisticated with erotic hints. Concerns from 1941 resonate with the anxiety of the continent plunged in the horror of war. Both are works of a mature artists, synchronized with the issues and atmosphere of his times, with the artistic trends and techniques of the first half of the past century.

Maastricht is located in the South-Eastern extremity of the Netherlands, and the city is a few kilometers away from Belgium. Besides sharing a common language the Dutch and the Flemish Belgians also share the passion for good beer. Actually Belgium with its 125 breweries and its countless brands of beer (well, some people do count them, and results differ from 800 to more than 8000 brands!) is the place of origin of the best beer in the world. Maastricht enjoys some (but not all) the varieties of beer, but for me and for many other IETF-ers it was the opportunity to get as close as possible and taste as many as possible Belgian beers without entering Belgium. The Dutch beers are by far not that varied and interesting as the Belgian ones, but if you search well you may have some pleasant surprises.

Affligem Dubbel

Let us start with some terminology. A Dubbel is a almost dark (brown) beer, one of the traditional brands produced by the Trappist monks starting with the 19th century. It is typically 6 to 8% strong. The Affligem Dubbel is 7% strong and is produced in a 12,000 inhabitants village north of Brussels. The monastery there dates back from the 11th century. This was one of my preferred beers during the stay in Maastricht.

Grimbergen Dubbel

Another brand of dubbel I had in Maastricht comes from Grimbergen which is said to have brewed its first beers in 1128. No need to say, any beer you drink comes in its own glass.

Westmalle Trappist

Another Belgian dubble which I enjoyed comes from Westmalle Abbey, a Trappist brewery which dates from the mid-19th century. The concentration of their beer is 7%, the taste is complex and a little bit on the sweet side, with a consistent feel.

La Trappe Tripel

A Triple is a blonde and even stronger beer. There are seven breweries producing triples in the world, six of them are located in Belgium, and the seventh one La Trappe in the Netherlands.

Heineken Oud Bruin

Staying in the Netherlands, anybody who knows beer heard about Heineken. They actually manufacture non-boring beer as well, one of them being the Oud Bruin also known as the Flemish sour brown ale. It is aged in wooden caskets, same style as the wine aging caskets.

Wieckse Rose

Last, on a lighter note here is the fruity Wieckse Rose which was one of the beers served at the IETF social. It is not at all my style, but, hey, it was free!

A city with a history of at least two thousand years, Maastricht hosts a number of remarkable churches, witnesses of history and centers of spirituality of a city which is not only located in the center of Europe but also at the crossroads of the Christian faiths in Western Europe.

Basilica of Our Lady

The oldest church in town was built by the first bishop of Maastricht, Saint Servatius at the end of the 4th century. It was located at the place of an old Roman temple, at the place were today we find the two-towered building of the Basilica of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwebasiliek).

Star of the Sea

Much of the exterior structure of the present building was raised in the 11th and 12th century. A beautiful statue of the Madonna Star of the Sea is said to hold miraculous powers and is taken out in processions in the streets of the city once a year.

inside the Basilica of Our Lady

The interior of the church is rather dark and sober, yet powerful and elegant, in Gothic style.

Saint John the Baptist and Saint Servatius Churches

The Vrijthof square in the center of the city is sided by another two imposing churches. One of them is the protestant church of Saint John the Baptist (Sint-Janskerk). It’s imposing red tower is the tallest in the city and offers the best perspective for the audacious who climb its more than 200 stairs, but the interior is less than impressing.

galleries inside Saint Servatius Church

It is the Catholic church of Saint Servatius that catches the attention of the visitors and remains in memory as the more exquisite monument of religious architecture in Maastricht. It is a complex structure of church, chapels and cloisters reflecting a long history and a combination of styles from Romanesque to Gothic until more recent elements.

Shrine of Saint Servatius

The church is built around the grave of Armenian-born Saint Servatius who died and was buried here in 384, during the reign of byzantine emperor Theodosius and his tentative to reunite the Roman empire under the rule of Christianity. The grave of Servatius is located under the floor of the church, while a splendid golden-plated shrine can be seen in the museum.

Interior (nave) of Saint Servatius Church

The interior of the church belongs to the Baroque period.

stained-glass windows at Saint Servatius Church

Exquisite stained-glass windows have been created along the time, from the Gothic to the more recent periods.

Jerusalem Mosaic in Saint Servatius Church

The latest additions are the backdoor gate and the beautiful mosaic in front of it, with a representation of Jerusalem.

Selexyz Dominicanen - the most beautiful bookshop in the world

I could not end my tour of the churches in Maastricht without entering the bookshop that the British newspaper The Guardian put at the top of its list of the most beautiful bookshop in the world. It is located very close to the Vrijthof square, in a former Dominican church.

the bookshop church in Maastricht

The combination of the elegant arches of the former church with the three levels of the bookshop full is indeed unique. The spirituality of the former house of God is preserved and amplifies the force embedded in the endless number of book on the shelves. This renovation and second life of the former church is a daring and successful idea.

The 78th meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force was hold in the heart of Europe – in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands.

the IETF at the MECC

The venue of the meeting was The Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Center (MECC) not far from the place where in 1992 the treaty that defined the European Union and the creation of the Euro currency was signed. The location is a little remote from the center of the city, but frankly speaking the 20 to 30 minutes walk at night after dinner from the center to the nearby hotels did us just good, and the free pass that was granted to the IETF participants on buses during the week helped the lazy ones.

one shore of the Maas ...

The name of the city derives from the Maas (Meuse) river that crosses the city. The place is inhabited at least from the times of the Romans.

... and the other

The history of the city includes several interesting episodes. Good chances are that you have read about it during your childhood if you have read Alexandre Dumas’ novels. The death of d’Artagnan – the hero made immortal by Dumas happened during the siege of Maastricht by Louis XIV’s armies. The story is told in Dumas’ novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne.

the city seen from above ...

The city has many beautiful churches and at least two of them are outstanding. I will tell more about them and also bring up some pictures in one of the coming episodes.

... and down in the streets, at day ...

I love wandering on the streets of European cities like Maastricht.

... and at night

They are beautiful at day and at night.

terraces in the Vrijthof square

The week I spent in Maastricht was a pleasant summer week, following a wave of heat which had made the atmosphere challenging they week before (as we were told). The few showers were short and just cleaned the air. We could spent some of the evening dinners on terraces like the one in the Vrijthof square …

the Town Hall in Markt Square

… or the ones in the Markt Square.

a city of statues

Adding beauty to the picturesque streets are the statues that can be found in Maastricht at the crossroads or even on the sides of the streets. Most of them are not big in dimensions, in many cases at human sizes and proportions allowing for an feeling of intimacy and belonging to be established between the statues and the street walker.

Johannes Petrus Minckelers

One of the few that look at visitors from a pedestal is the statue in Markt Square of Johannes Petrus Minckelers, the inventor of the illuminating gas, who holds an eternal flame in his hand reminding all about his invention.

bycicles, bycicles

As in many other places in the Netherlands bicycles are a preferred means of transport. Locals are bicycling to work, to recreation, or to their commuting train stations.

the police orchestra plays for the IETF

The social event is the one moment of recreation that happens on Tuesdays of the IETF meetings allowing for a change of atmosphere and pace for the big heads who build and run the Internet.

rocking the boat at the IETF Social

The social at this meeting was organized on the boats near the river (who are used during the day for the tourist rides on the Maas). We had fanfare music, we had rock music played from the high deck of the boats, we had even tribal drums by the end. Food, wine and especially beer ran free, but beer will be the subject of a dedicated later episode.

Am avut ieri cateva ore libere pentru cutreierat prin Geneva. Am inclus o vizita la libraria Payot (prima intr-o librarie de carte in limba franceza in ultimii doi sau trei ani) si o scurta trecere prin muzeul de arta si historie la care nu reusisem sa ajung in vizitele anterioare.

Geneva mi s-a parut intotdeauna (din perspectiva vizitatorului grabit si superficial desigur) un oras mai putin elvetian si mai mult gazda a sediilor diferitelor organizatii internationale si dormitor pentru slujbasii lor si slujbasii slujbasilor lor. Doar limbile vorbite pe strada sau in tranvaie par sa se schimbe. Franceza ramane una dintre limbile vorbite in Geneva, dar din ce in ce mai mult i se adauga chineza – proportia de chinezi pare sa fi crescut enorm, si nu este vorba numai de muncitori, ci (mai ales) de oameni de afaceri sau poate functionari internationali. Fizionomiile de pe strada sunt de toate rasele si culorile, si daca par sa fie ‘europeeni’ sanse bune sunt ca sa ii auzi vorbind ruseste.

Sediul organiatiei internationale care se ocupa de standardizarea comunicatiilor se afla in zona in care in anii 20-30 ai secolului trecut se afla Liga Natiunilor si Crucea Rosie internationala isi are pana astazi sediul. In vecinatate se afla dintotdeauna un sediu al organizatiei internationale a refugiatilor, acum a rasarit si un lagar de ceea ce in Israel numim ‘caravile’ – caravane dotate cu un nivel decent de confort – asta la 200 de metri de Place des Nations! Refugiatii care le locuiesc sunt africani, poate somalezi sau sudanezi.

Faimoasa promenada de la marginea lacului, cu hotelurile celebre si de mare lux si traditie, cu balustrada, felinarele si vederea spre lac si fantana emblema a Genevei este napadita de un fel de balci ambulant, cu zeci de corturi si tarabe de vandut bazaconii si distrat copiii in vacanta. O fi si asta un semn al diversitatii culturale.

Minarete desigur ca nu am vazut. Poporul elvetian a decis ca nu le doreste in cadrul unui mult discutat referendum. Am vazut in schimb turlele aurite ale unei biserici rusesti, sclipind in soarele verii, in plin centru istoric, vis-a-vis de muzeul de arta si istorie al orasului (care isi sarbatoreste doua secole de existenta si care pe placa de marmora il include pe Napoleon I drept unul dintre binefacatori). Despre muzeu insa poate alta data.

The last episode of the Maltese travel notes is dedicated to the former capital of Malta – Mdina and the adjoining village of Rabat. We visited them in our last full day on the island.

the old city of Mdina

Mdina was populated as early as the year 700 BC and may have been founded by the Phoenicians. It was the capital of the island until after the Grand Siege, when the knights moved their principal institutions in the fortified city of Valletta.

Mdina Main Gate

The city today has no more than 300 inhabitants, but the surrounding Rabat has a population of 11,000. The entrance to the city is made through a spectacular gate, more beautiful than the access gate in Valletta.

in the streets of the old city of Mdina

The old city offers the traditional views of narrow streets in former medieval city. A tourist accustomed with the old city of Jerusalem will not feel displaced here at all.

knights are still walking the streets

There is a lot of tourist exploitation going on in the old city. Photo opportunities with armored knights is one of them.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The most important building in the city is the imposing Cathedral of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Saint Paul is the patron of Malta. Arrested in Jerusalem in the year 60 for preaching the new Christian faith through the Eastern part of the Roman empire he was sent to trial to Rome, but on its way to the capital of the world at that time the ship was wrecked and Paul saved himself on the island, living according to the legend in a grotto in Rabat. He converted the governor and thus introduced Christianity to the island, but later was captured again and sent to Rome to be killed during the reign of Nero.

interior of the St. Paul's cathedral

The current impressing building was built in Baroque style by the end of the 17th century, after an earthquake destroyed a previous church built by the Normans on the same place. Here took place the inauguration ceremonies of the Grand Masters of the knights Order of Saint John.

floor of the St. Paul Cathedral

We had the last opportunity to admire here the tombs on the floor of the cathedral, specific to the religious art of Malta.

dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral

The decoration of the church is due to a large extent to the Calabrese painter Mattia Preti, among other beautiful frescoes depicting episodes from the life of Saint Paul.

Madonna and Child icon (13th century)

An old icon of Madonna and Child is one of the beautiful objects of art saved from the previous church destroyed in the quake.

Mosaic in the Roman Domus

another Mosaic in the Roman Domus

Out of the city of Mdina we visited the principal objectives in Rabat, the adjoining village. One of them is the Roman Domus, actually a 20th century reconstruction of a Roman villa, hosting a beautiful museum on the ruins of a 1st century townhouse built during the Roman epoch. The mosaics are exquisite, with both decorative motives as well as figurative symbolic representations.

statue of Claudius - Roman Domus

Among the statues a splendid statue of emperor Claudius.

theatrical masks - Roman Domus

Theatrical masks remind one of the favorite pastimes of the Roman inhabitants of the place.

Saint Paul's Catacombs

Saint Paul's Catacombs - 2

One almost mandatory stop in Rabat are the Roman catacombs, named somehow inaccurately Saint Paul Catacombs. They do not have too much with Saint Paul, in reality they were the burial places of the city of Mdina for a few centuries, as Roman law forbid burial inside the city. Today they are well within the streets of Rabat, but then they were safely remote from the walls of Mdina.  The underground labyrinth of corridors and burial chambers may have some macabre fascination, but it’s not my preferred kind of visiting objective.

the train does not come today

We did not miss the touristic minicar train ride of the city, which took us around the whole Mdina and Rabat and allowed us a few spectacular photo angles. One of the interesting objectives was the deserted train station. There is no train service today in Malta, and no need for one on an island whose diameter is 40 or 50 kilometers at most. Yet the British tried to build one during their rule, but it proved to be totally uneconomic and was abandoned after the second world was.

That was our last day in Malta. Early next morning Mr. David, the hotel driver took us back to the airport, to start our way home via Athens. It was the end of a visit in an interesting place, very much worth visiting once, probably not more than once.

I have heard for the first time about Gozo when I bought on Amazon one of the tour guides in preparation for the trip. The title was ‘Malta and Gozo’. What in the world is Gozo, I asked myself. The answer is of course that Malta is an archipelago, and Gozo is the second island in size (67 square kilometers) and a population of 31,000 inhabitants out of the about 400,000 total population of Malta. The third one in size if you ask has a population of six (one is a policeman, crime rate must be high).

the ferryboat to Gozo

The connection between the island of Malta and Gozo is by means of ferryboat. It’s not necessarily my preferred travel experience, although the ferry between the two Maltese islands seems well run and maintained, I was lucky to see Polanski’s Ghost Writer only after this trip.

the harbor of Mgarr

We took a organized trip, which is probably best to see Gozo, and one day is more than sufficient. The minibus waited for us at the harbor of Mgarr, which has a spectacular location, very Mediterranean in style.

the dome of Xewkija

The first stop was in the village of Xewkija, where the driver and guide of our tour was living. The village has a population of 3000 and a Rotunda church with a dome larger in size than the one of St. Paul’s in London.

admire God's creation

A welcome sign at the entry of the church invited us inside.

inside the Rotunda church of Xewkija

It is in fact man’s creation dedicated to God, rather than God’s creation. I have already written about the deep catholic feelings of the Maltese, and the church in Xewkija is a good exemplification. It was built during 20 years, between 1951 and 1971 and was all funded from money coming from the Catholic community of the village. All 3000 inhabitants have room in the church at the big events of the Catholic calendar.

stained-glass window in Xewkija

Not only its size, but also many of the interior decoration and pieces of religious art are remarkable. Of course, it is not the first church on this place, several other preceded it in the history, and part of the art objects previously used in these churches are preserved in the small museum of the church.

from the roof of the Rotunda church in Xewkija

One can climb the stairs or take the elevator to the roof of the church. The viewer is rewarded with the 360 degrees landscape of a large part of the island.

Gharb folklore museum

Our next stop was in the folklore museum in Gharb. It is quite a typical museum of ethnography, hosted by a 18th century house. The visitor will find here the typical sections in such museums about local crafts and costumes, some interesting, but presented in quite a dusty style.

Gozo wine

We did not have unfortunately the occasion to taste the wines of Gozo, just to photo the stand in a place where they were sold.

Ggigantija

I already wrote in another episode about the megalithic temples of Ggigantija. The island is populated for 5000 years.

Dwejra Bay, Azure window

Our next stop was in the spectacular Dweira bay with the Azure window and the interior lagoon carved in the limestone rock that dominates the geology of the island (as of the whole Malta). It is beautiful, reminding the Rosh HaNikra cave in the North of Israel.

Calypso's Boutique

The island of Gozo is also known as the island of Calypso, so the tour included the place where the legend says the nymph imprisoned Ulysses for seven years. Not too much can be seen there, just the entrance of a cave in a hill by the sea, so I preferred to put here a picture of … Calypso’s Boutique.

John Paul II greets us in Victoria

The capital of Gozo is Victoria, or Rabat as it was known during the Arab rule. The Citadel which is an old city fortification is the tourist center of interest, and this was our last stop on the island.

inside the Gozo Cathedral of Assumption

The Cathedral of Assumption dominates the Citadel. It was built in 1697-1703, by Lorenzo Gafa, and it’s another wonderful piece of religious architecture and includes many of the characteristics of the other churches in Malta, including the elaborated tombs on the floor.

Gozo cathedral - ceiling and trompe-vue

The art of the ceiling with a spectacular trompe-vue impressed me.

good-bye, Gozo

The way back was by ferry-boat again, a 20 minutes trip which brought us back to the main island.

If there is time for just one museum visit in Malta or Valletta I recommend it to be in the National Museum of Archeology.

(video source heartofmalta)

Located on the Republic Street, the 5th Avenue of Valletta which divides the city grid into two almost symmetrical halves, the museum is hosted by one of the beautiful palaces built by the architect of the co-cathedral Gerolama Cassan, the Auberge de Provence which was hosting the Provencal knights when coming into Malta. The palace was renovated by the end of the last century and the entrance hall and its beautiful painted ceiling is a great example of the architecture of the palaces of the first period after the foundation of the city.

auberge de Provence - entry hall

The collection of the museum covers several historical periods, however the megalithic finds section is by far the richest and the most extensive, with both a comprehensive and well documented timeline of the ancient history of the island, as well as a richness of objects and artifacts that document each period, plus a few exceptional top findings, among the most exquisite objects of such kind in the world.

Ghar Dalam animal heads

The first populations in the island were the agricultural and shepherds inhabitants who left the artifacts at Ghar Dalam from the period between 5200 and 4500 BC. They were related to the inhabitants of Sicily from the same Neolithic period, and actually objects found on site show that they were navigating or part of a cross-Mediterranean commerce that put them in contact with other civilizations of the same period.

red Skorba figurine

The immediate next period is well characterized by findings at Skorba. The figurines from the Red Skorba period (4400 – 4100 BC) are the first representations of human bodies found here, they are very similar to the Cyclades figurines again indicating a possible commerce and cultural interference, and were probably religious cult object.

fragment from the Hypogeum

One of the most famous Megalithic objectives to visit on the island of Malta is the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum with its monument and underground cemetery. It accommodates a limited number of visitors each day, and the waiting queue was a few weeks even in the out-of-season period when we visited Malta. Luckily the National Museum of Archeology has documentation and a few artifacts brought from that place that we could see and learn about it.

Hagar Quim Altar

The Hagar Quim Altar is another example of a valuable object, brought in this case from a place that we had already visited. The form and dimensions of the altar are very similar to ones in works by Brancusi, and it left me wondering if the Romanian had maybe seen photos of the monuments and made me see in a different perspective some of his stone works.

animal representation

The period of maximal development of the temples civilizations in Malta bring up some of the most representative objects of artistic expression of the stone and bronze ages. Representations of animals – mostly domestic as there were few wild beasts on the small surface of the island are typical for a culture that made of growing animals one of the principal sources of living.

heads

Back to human representation, some of the heads of the Temples period (4000 – 2500 BC) are superb.

standing statues

Many of the human representations were however having cult destination as are the standing statues from Tarxien and other places which presumably are fertility goddesses.

seated statues

A similar group of seated statues drew my attention as a proof that Botero did not really invent anything.

The Sleeping Lady

The absolute masterpiece of the Maltese Temple period art of The Sleeping Lady, discovered in the Hypogeum. It is interpreted representation of Death, the Eternal Sleep, but can also be viewed as a precursor of the Goya’s Majas and other reclined women portraits in the history of art.

The Venus of Malta

The Venus of Malta discovered at Hagar Quin is another representative piece of work, of an astonishing realism. Well, it may look different than Venus of Milo, or maybe beauty standards changed in the thousands of years in-between.

sarcophagi from Tarxien

The last great period of Megalithic art is the one represented by works from Tarxien, around 2500 BC. After that time the great period of the megalithic temples ends abruptly. The causes are not clear, maybe a natural catastrophe, maybe diseases, maybe over-exploitation of the natural resources. Ancient history of Malta ends here in any case, and so did our visit through the most interesting sections of this beautiful and recommended museum in Valletta.

I love to visit art museums. Big ones and small ones. Famous and anonymous. In the big metropolis of the world or in remote places. Visiting an art museum (at least 0ne) is an almost mandatory part of a trip, of my exploration of a new place. When I am in a lesser known museum I look for the local artists, I try to learn as much as I can about the history of the institution, and about the role of art in the life of the place.

The National Museum of Fine Arts

The National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta is located not far from the gate of the city, in a beautiful baroque palace located on South Street. It is one of the oldest mansions of the city, built in 1571. During the years of the British rule it hosted the Admiralty House and Winston Churchill is said to have been its guest.  It became home of the most important art institution in Malta in 1974.

(video by PhoeniciaHotel)

The Museum of Valletta was founded in 1903, and its fine arts section became the National Museum of Fine Arts and moved in the location on South Street in 1974. It was the dream and deed Vincenzo Bonello who built the collection and led the fine arts section for much of the century. Unfortunately he did not live to see it in the beautiful home today. A short film about the man and the museum he created is available on YouTube.

inside the museum

The collection of the museum is strong in works that are inspired by Caravaggio, although no work of the master who spent two years in Malta (1607 to 1609) can be found here. We can however see works of Guido Reni or Mattia Preti -  the latest with an impressive gathering of Bible inspired art which can be seen at http://www.maltaart.com/pretismall/html/list_of_works.html

Maltese Prie-Dieu

Before getting to the paintings that seemed to be more interesting although out of the beaten path here is a beautiful piece of religious furniture from the 17th century, called a ‘prie-Dieu’ – you can imagine the knight or the noble man or lady kneeling in prayer and keeping his Bible (and maybe other artifacts) in its drawers.

the crystal sword

Two beautiful pieces of arms that could never be used in war are exposed at the first floor of the museum, near the superb spiral staircase. These are a sword and a dagger made of crystal, with exquisite ornaments that were a present by king Philip the 5th of Spain to the Knights of St. John, in sign of the special relation of friendship and protection between the kingdom of Spain and the island of the knights.

Le Valentin - Judith and Holofornes

One of the most caravaggian works in the museum belongs to Valentin de Boulogne (Le Valentin) is ‘Judith and Holofornes’ which matches the painting of Caravaggio which I had seen in Rome a few days earlier at the retrospective at Quirinale.

Jusepe de Ribera - St. Francis of Paola

Jusepe de Ribera also known as Lo Spagnoletto is also considered a disciple of Caravaggio. I like his style sometimes called ‘Tenebrist’ and works who seem to me to be a balancing act between the darkness of the Inquisition-haunted Spain he came from and the ideals of Renaissance of the Italy he lived and created much of his life. The portrait of St. Francis of Paola that can be found in the museum in Valletta is fascinating.

Venetian School - Flowers in a Vase

I am no big fan of floral arrangements paintings, but this painting from a 18th century Venetian school master drew my attention.

Louis Ducros - View of the Great Harbor

Local landscapes take a deserved place in the collection. Above is a painting of the Great Harbour of Valletta as painted by the Swiss Louis Ducros at the beginning of the 20th century.

Eugenio Maccagnani - Leah

Out of the more recent collection of art here is a piece by Italian sculptor Eugenio Maccagnani from the beginning of the 20th century.

facade of St. John's Co-Cathedral

St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta is not only the most visited tourist attraction on the island, but also one of the most beautiful churches and religious monuments in Europe. It is located in the center of the city of Valletta and was built between the years 1573 and 1578, the years of the foundation of the city following the Grand Siege of Malta. Its austere exterior reminds a military fortification, and this is no coincidence. The architect who was commissioned with designing and building the church was Gerolamo Cassar. Descendant of a well known Maltese family, Cassar was a knight, a military architect and an inventor of military machines during the siege. His architectural contributions to the shape took by the city of Valletta include beside the Co-Cathedral the Palace of the Grand Masters and several of the knights auberges – actually palaces that are today part of the Valletta original look.

the Co-Cathedral Interior

The simple exterior makes even stronger the impact of the viewer with the rich decoration, opulence and elegance of the Baroque style interior. Much of the design of the interior is attributed to master Mattia Preti, who also authored some of the paintings in the chapels and ceiling. The big WOW reaction of many of the visitors is by no means exaggerated. Some of the relief and decorations are not built separately and applied to the structure, but carved directly in the limestone which is the material of building of choice in Malta, the church being no exception.

tombstones in the Co-Cathedral floor

It is not only the walls but also the floor of the co-cathedral that impresses the visitors. Inlaid marble tombs cover the almost the whole surfaces, and each of the tombs is a work of art by itself, inviting admiration for their beauty and reflection about the passing nature of life and things in this world.

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chapel

On the two sides of the church there are several splendid chapels, each one richly decorated with paintings, sculptures and carvings. Eight of them are dedicated to the eight langues that were used by the knights of St. John coming from the different nations of Europe.

a Grand Master's Tomb

Also of a great beauty are some of the tombs of the Grand Masters and bishops who are buried in the church. For more than two centuries between the inauguration until the occupation of the island by Napoleon’s army the church hosted the throne of the Grand Master. During the British rule this was taken over by the governor, and now it belongs to the bishop, who shares his time between this church and the one in Mdina, hence the designation of the church as a co-cathedral.

Beheading of St. John the Baptist by Caravaggio - source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Co-Cathedral

The museum of the cathedral hosts several remarkable pieces of art as well as objects and documents related to the functions and history of the building. The cornerstones of the collection are beyond any doubt the two works of Caravaggio painted during the artist’s stay here in 1607 and 1608. Running away from Rome where he had killed a man in a street fight, Caravaggio arrived here and was made in a short time knight (quite an exception as he was no soldier and not of noble origin) and commissioned to paint several works among which the two kept nowadays in the cathedral museum. He soon got himself again into trouble, fought a fellow knight, was arrested and imprisoned, to escape in 1608 from prison and from the island. He was promptly expelled from the order. Seeing the two works at their original place was a beautiful continuation of the visit I had paid a few days ago at the great Caravaggio retrospective at Quirinale in Rome.

St. Jerome Writing by Caravaggio - source http://www.stjohnscocathedral.com/caravaggio.html

The co-cathedral has a beautiful web site - http://www.stjohnscocathedral.com/