Advent Calendar XXIV

 

It's Christmas eve, in many places I know this is in many ways the bigger day than Christmas day itself. The Germanic ideal of Christmas says that there should be snow, a log fire, a tree and lots of warming treats. Here in Malta we have none of those, as Pooh might have said here it is a blustery day!

It has been far too windy to follow our original plan and visit the old capital of Mdina, it is built on the highest point of the Island, and I fear we might have been blown away.

Being Christmas Eve we wanted to do more than sit in the hotel lobby playing Uno, so we braved the elements and had an excursion into Valletta. A visit to St. John's co-cathedral never disappoints and it was wonderful to be able to introduce somebody who'd never been here before to this baroque masterpiece. As you walk in through the rather austere entrance the sheer shock and awe of the interior hits you. 

I know of nowhere else that treads the boundary between magnificence and gaudy quite so delicately. I don't think there is a single surface that is not decorated, gold leaf is everywhere, polished marble abounds, paintings and sculptures are everywhere. Of course the major art work that brings people is the Caravaggio "Beheading of St. John the Baptist" but there is so much more that is magnificent, I often feel that the "Baptism of Christ" by Melchiorre Cafa is under rated, and maybe if it were anywhere else might get more attention. The only thing missing is stained glass. The only windows are small and set high, a reminder that this was also built as a defensive position.

As Christmas eve draws towards it's close it means tomorrow is Christmas, it also means that my Advent calendar only has one more post to go, it has been fun writing every day, it has of course also been a challenge, but I hope it has been worth it.