© Allied Newspapers Ltd. 1999, Photo by Darrin J. Zammit Lupi
Several dignitaries flock to view Caravaggio's 400 year old masterpiece "The Beheading of St John" which returned to public viewing in the Oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. The 1608 painting, Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio's largest and finest and the only one bearing his signature, was returned last week under tight security to Malta from Florence, Italy, after a three year absence during which it was painstakingly restored to its former glory by restoration experts from the world-renowned 'Opificio delle Pietre Dure'. A bungled robbery attempt in 1992 had left the art treasure with a metre long gash its the lower end. It is estimated to be worth around 40 million US dollars.
Malta - 1999
© Darrin J. Zammit Lupi 2000