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St John's Co-Cathedral
St John's Co-Cathedral
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Other Projects by AP Valletta
St John's Co-Cathedral
Firm
STATUS
Under Construction
SIZE
10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft
BUDGET
Undisclosed
In the early 1620s, Isabella, Infanta of Spain, collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens to design a set of tapestries describing the Triumph of the Eucharist, that was presented to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales where they decorated the convent church on important occasions. More than half a century later, Ramon Perellos y Roccaful commissioned a full set of these tapestries as a gift to the co-Cathedral of St John on his election as Grand Master to the Order. His intention was to add a soft and sumptuous touch to the interior of the church whose walls, vault and floor had been, over the previous decades, covered with polychrome marble sepulchral slabs, gilded sculptural decoration, and paintings by artists of the calibre of Mattia Preti and Caravaggio.
The twenty-nine tapestries were hung in the Cathedral every year on the Feast of St John, but centuries of handling, inappropriate storage and harmful lighting and climate conditions had left their toll on these delicate images made from silk thread, t the only full set of these designs by Rubens in the world.
AP was commissioned to design the rehabilitation and extension of the current Museum. Besides restoring and reusing the neglected and underutilised historical spaces annexed to the Cathedral, we have designed a beautiful stone box to house this precious set of tapestries.
The blind walls necessary to shut out all harmful natural light in the hall, 50m long and 12m high, are articulated with the classical, albeit forgotten, use of the niche and rotated pilaster. The latter have reducing dimensions and proportions, creating a melodic relief, the shadows of which form a false perspective giving the illusion of depth and transparency. The end effect is that of a giant reliquary containing a mystical narrative describing the principle mystery of the Catholic Faith.
The project aims at updating the interface of the building with the public areas around, providing access for all, reorganizing the circulation within the museum, improving the internal climate control to cater for the requirements of the collections and revising and updating the exhibition material to provide for an improved educational and enjoyable experience for visitors.
The twenty-nine tapestries were hung in the Cathedral every year on the Feast of St John, but centuries of handling, inappropriate storage and harmful lighting and climate conditions had left their toll on these delicate images made from silk thread, t the only full set of these designs by Rubens in the world.
AP was commissioned to design the rehabilitation and extension of the current Museum. Besides restoring and reusing the neglected and underutilised historical spaces annexed to the Cathedral, we have designed a beautiful stone box to house this precious set of tapestries.
The blind walls necessary to shut out all harmful natural light in the hall, 50m long and 12m high, are articulated with the classical, albeit forgotten, use of the niche and rotated pilaster. The latter have reducing dimensions and proportions, creating a melodic relief, the shadows of which form a false perspective giving the illusion of depth and transparency. The end effect is that of a giant reliquary containing a mystical narrative describing the principle mystery of the Catholic Faith.
The project aims at updating the interface of the building with the public areas around, providing access for all, reorganizing the circulation within the museum, improving the internal climate control to cater for the requirements of the collections and revising and updating the exhibition material to provide for an improved educational and enjoyable experience for visitors.
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