Card Player Cruises Mediterranean Cruise
Valletta is Malta's historic harbor city and is on an island of
craggy rough coves and pristine beaches. Relics of the Crusaders
may be the most historically significant artifacts here, and the
churches and city centers are some of the most beautiful anywhere
in the world. In the city of Mdina, Lorenzo Gafa built the Cathedral
of Saints Peter and Paul in 1702. Still today, we (CPC cruisers,
that is) can't figure out how they did it. Then there is the Conventional
Church of the Knights of St. John and its interiors at St. John's
Co-Cathedral where interiors are so breathtakingly beautiful that
those of us who missed the Sistine Chapel in Rome more than made
up for it here. It has awesome Baroque interiors with inlaid marble
and features some of the most famous tapestries in the world. Artist
Carvaggio's famous painting, "The Beheading of St. John"
hangs in the Oratory. The Mosta Dome was also on our city tour and
this is considered the third largest dome in all of Europe. Who
would have thought that it would be in Malta? The most interesting
part of this church is that during services one day during World
War II, a wartime bomb crashed through the roof. Not only did the
bomb fail to detonate, but also not one of the 3,000 plus attendees
was injured in the ensuing fracas. The dome was damaged but rebuilt
and the bomb is a testament to faith as well as luck. |
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