Day and Night Painter

Barbara Roden from British Columbia, who blogs at Day and Night Painter, visits Mdina and Valletta:

In Mdina, the colour of the buildings, wrought iron details, Christian iconography and the lovely architecture made it an especially pretty place to visit. In Valletta I visited the most elaborately ornate cathedral I've ever seen - St. John's Co-Cathedral, where over 400 Knights of Malta are buried beneath the floor's colourful marble inlays.

The carved stone statuary are amongst the most intricate I've seen, and the whole place sparkles with an abundance of gold leaf over carved wood detail. Treasures of the Co-Cathedral include two large paintings by Caravaggio, including The Beheading of St. John the Baptist. The Co-Cathedral is a definite 'must-see' if you ever have the good fortune to visit Malta.