Today we explored St. John's Co-Cathedral, the Palace Armoury, and the Malta Maritime Museum, and we are all going to share about our favorite parts of the day.
Amy: My favorite part of today was visiting St. John's Co-Cathedral. It's amazing how from the outside it looks plain, but inside is so beautiful and full of art. For me, the most interesting part was the room dedicated to the artist, Caravaggio. As someone working in computer graphics, I appreciate good lighting in a scene. Caravaggio truly is the master of lighting, and I really loved his work.
Roslyn: I really enjoyed all of the gold details in the Cathedral on the walls, ceilings and floors. Everything was decorated with intricacies and perfections. The marble statues, like the one of the Grand Master, had some great history and stories with them. I also thought all of the tomb stones in the floor were very interesting. The cathedral was crowded, and I also thought it was interesting that many people had to cover their shoulders and legs with a gray cloth that was handed out at the entrance. Most people were dressed in summer clothing, but the cathedral required more modest dress.
Jeff: We visited a lot of cool museums today. One I found particularly interesting was The Palace Armoury. The first section we walked through contained many historical pieces of armour. It was cool to see this old technology, but I think my favourite part were all the intricate patterns beautifully inlaid into the armour. The second section contained many historical armaments. I especially enjoyed looking through the progression of musket technology and was very surprised that one of the rifles was powered by compressed air.
Wentao: After the Knights of St John came to Malta in 1530, they brought a great variety of weapons from all over Europe into Malta, and some of them fortunately survived the battles and became part of the stunning collection at the Palace Armoury. As someone who is passionate about cold arms, I must say the Armoury is definitely one of the museums that I enjoyed the most. The weapons are displayed with great care and informative explanation. I learned a lot and could not stop being amazed at the intricate engineering and delicate art of the weapons and armours on display.
Sam: Our last stop today was at the maritime museum. It covered a large range of material from ancient ships and corsairs to more modern battleships. We all had a lot of fun looking at the exhibits and the many models of ships. I was impressed by the amount of engineering and technical expertise that was put into the design, manufacturing, and operation of the ships. The exhibit showing the different parts of a typical steam powered boat and how it all works together was particularly interesting.
Jane: Our last stop today was the Malta Maritime Museum (thanks Liam for the invitation). After a month of exploring and mapping shipwrecks, it was great to learn more about Malta’s maritime history and make connections to the wrecks we’ve visited during our trip. For example, the HMS Maori we’ve visited in Valletta was part of the Mediterranean Fleet, a crucial part of the Royal Navy that defended the Mediterranean Sea for the U.K. It was also amazing to see the intricate hand-drawn plans for the ships. Finally, we also learned that (HMS) Vernon was also part of the Royal Navy!
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