Grand Ambitions: A landmark exhibition of Francesco Laparelli’s visionary drawings

St John’s Co-Cathedral is hosting a landmark exhibition titled Grand Ambitions, featuring original drawings by the renowned Italian architect Francesco Laparelli da Cortona. This unique exhibition is open to the public from 18 June to 18 July 2025.

At the centre of this exhibition are original 16th-century drawings by Francesco Laparelli da Cortona, the Italian architect and military engineer entrusted with designing Valletta.

These historical documents, including a drawing of the island of Malta and four rare renderings of Valletta itself, are on loan from the Accademia Etrusca di Cortona in Italy, Laparelli’s hometown. Their temporary return to Malta marks a unique opportunity to encounter the visionary plans that laid the foundation of the city as we know it today.

Commissioned by the Order of St John in the aftermath of the Great Siege of 1565, Laparelli arrived in Malta with a clear mandate: to design a new fortified city that would be both a military stronghold and a powerful symbol of the Order’s resilience and faith. Influenced by Renaissance ideals of symmetry, proportion, and rational planning, Laparelli envisioned a city with wide, straight streets, ordered blocks, and strategically placed civic and sacred spaces. His blueprints represented more than engineering, they reflected the values and aspirations of an entire order rebuilding from trauma.

After Laparelli’s departure, the responsibility of executing his designs fell to his assistant, Girolamo Cassar, a Maltese architect and military engineer of considerable talent. Cassar not only ensured that Laparelli’s vision came to life, but he also shaped Valletta’s architectural identity in his own right.

He was responsible for designing many of the city’s most important buildings, including the auberges of the Knights, several palaces, and the Conventual Church of St John, which now serves as the St John’s Co-Cathedral.

Grand Ambitions gives audiences the rare chance to see the actual drawings that guided the transformation of a rocky peninsula into a thriving urban centre. These documents provide a visual and intellectual link to the foundational moment of Valletta, a moment when a new capital rose from the ashes of war, defined by clarity of purpose, functionality, and grandeur.

Through these plans, the exhibition highlights how Valletta was conceived as a complete urban project, integrating civic pride, religious devotion, and strategic defence into its very blueprint.

Emmanuel Agius, President of the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation, spoke about the significance of Laparelli’s legacy. "This exhibition is more than a tribute to Francesco Laparelli. It's a celebration of the enduring legacy of intelligent design, civic responsibility, and the power of imagination rooted in intellectual discipline. Laparelli's collaboration with the Knights of St John and his deep understanding of art and science of urban design single him out as not just an architect of stone and bastion, but as an architect of destiny."

Beyond its architectural value, the exhibition also serves as a reflection on the nature of cities and how they are shaped by vision and ambition. The show prompts questions that still resonate today: What makes a city great? How does planning influence identity? And how can architecture reflect both temporal power and spiritual ideals?

One of the enduring legacies of this vision is the Co-Cathedral itself. Designed by Cassar and completed in the late 16th century, it became the spiritual heart of the city. Nearly a century later, the church would be further elevated when Mattia Preti, one of the great artists of the Italian Baroque, was commissioned to paint its interior. His dramatic depiction of scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist on the barrel vault remains one of Malta’s most significant artistic achievements, echoing the original ambition to blend faith, art, and power into the fabric of Valletta.

Admission to Grand Ambitions is included with a regular ticket to St John’s Co-Cathedral. Whether you’re a student of history, a lover of architecture, or simply someone curious about how cities take shape, this exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the intellectual and artistic forces that shaped Malta’s capital. For full details, visit www.stjohnscocathedral.com