Sint-Janscokathedraal, Valletta 1865 - 1888

Giorgio Sommer made this albumen print of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta, sometime in the second half of the 19th century. Sommer's photograph captures not just the cathedral's architecture but also the social and religious fabric of Malta during a period of significant change. Constructed by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century, the cathedral served as a symbol of the island's religious identity and the power of the Catholic Church. Sommer, a German photographer working in Italy, produced countless images of the Italian peninsula and its neighboring islands. His photographs were made as documents of the built environment and sold as tourist souvenirs. Sommer’s photograph aestheticizes the building and presents it to the tourist gaze. Historical societies, religious archives, and travel literature from the period can provide additional information to understand the cultural and political significance of sites like the cathedral, and the place they held in the cultural imagination of the time.