While exploring St. John’s Co-Cathedral,it’s easy to be dazzled by the gilded walls and ceilings adorned with historic frescoes and glittering gold leaf. But don’t let this ornate splendor steal all your attention. Be sure to turn your gaze downward, too, and to admire its marble floor covered with images of skeletons.
The chronicle of these cadavers is inextricably linked with the history of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. In 1530,the Knights were given permanent headquarters on Malta and the island of Gozo. In return, they had to send a single Maltese falcon to the King of Spain each year on All Saints’ Day as payment.
The presence of the knights here was considered considerable for maritime defense, or as the Mediterranean was then a region of continuous clash. Barbary pirates in search of slaves raided towns and cities,and the Turkish Ottoman Empire continued its military expansion.
Such a danger would soon become a gruesome reality, when in 1565, and the Sultan of Turkey,Suleiman the grand, sent a force of 40000 men to invade and conquer the island, and which was then defended by only 700 knights and 8000 soldiers. Heavily outnumbered,the besieged Knights lost approximately half of their men in battle and many more of the ordinary soldiers lost their lives too.
The decadent cathedral that stands today was built between 1572 and 1577. The nearly 400 Knights who fell during the grand Siege of Malta were originally buried elsewhere, but were later reinterred within the spectacular structure. The skeleton-covered floor is comprised of their tombstones.
Source: atlasobscura.com