St John’s Co-Cathedral Leads Transformative Project to Enhance Lighting and Restore Baroque Ceiling
The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation has launched ‘Where Light Meets Legacy’, an initiative that brings together two major projects: the newly completed intelligent LED lighting system and a long-term fundraising campaign for the restoration of Mattia Preti’s Baroque ceiling. These combined efforts reflect the Foundation’s commitment to preserving and enhancing Malta’s sacred heritage for future generations.
St John’s Co-Cathedral, one of Europe’s foremost Baroque sites, has recently upgraded its lighting to a modern, efficient system designed to enhance the visitor experience and improve sustainability. The installation marks 112 years since the Co-Cathedral’s shift from candlelight to electricity. More than 350 museum-grade LED luminaires have replaced outdated fixtures, reducing energy use by over 50% while improving visibility and highlighting the artistic and architectural features of the interior.
President of the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation, Colonel Dr Mark Mallia, noted that the project is “far more than a technical enhancement, it is an act of reverence, bringing to life every brushstroke and gilded carving, allowing visitors to experience St John’s Co-Cathedral as Mattia Preti envisioned it, radiant, contemplative and alive with divine light.” Mgr Prof Emmanuel Agius described the system as “a vibrant symbol of illumination, a light that reveals beauty, inspires devotion, and elicits our inner spiritual response.”
In parallel, the Foundation has begun a six-year, €6 million campaign to restore Preti’s monumental ceiling, painted between 1661 and 1666 and depicting scenes from the life of St John the Baptist. The artwork is showing signs of deterioration due to humidity, environmental exposure, and the passage of time.
This ceiling is central to Malta’s cultural heritage and remains a landmark work of 17th-century European art. Colonel Mallia emphasized that the restoration is “not merely about conserving art but about safeguarding the soul of our nation’s heritage.” The conservation programme will be led by a scientific committee of international experts, combining historical research, technical analysis, and specialist restoration methods.
The project will involve stabilising and cleaning the painted surfaces, reinforcing the stone vault, and implementing measures to prevent further deterioration, ensuring the ceiling’s long-term protection. Mgr Prof Agius underlined that the campaign “calls for a generosity of heart and vision,” requiring support from businesses, philanthropic organisations, and individual contributors.
This initiative reinforces the Foundation’s ongoing responsibility to protect and share the artistic, cultural, and spiritual value of St John’s Co-Cathedral.
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