L'Apostolato dell'Ordine di San Giovanni nella Cattedrale di Malta

Fifteen statues by "Antonio Arrighi silversmith in Rome"

In the Metropolitan Cathedral of Malta in Mdina, fifteen silver statues depicting the Twelve Apostles, which together with Mary, John the Baptist and St. Paul, make up the precious sculptural group known as the "Apostleship of Malta," have been preserved since 1799.

The statues of the Apostles replicate on a smaller scale the monumental Carrara marble figures found in the nave of the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome's cathedral. 

The Apostolate of Malta was made between 1739 and 1743 in Rome by silversmith Antonio Arrighi at the behest of Grand Master of the Knights of St. John Baptist Raymond Despuig. The precious silver and silver-gilt trousseau, the only one of its kind in Europe, was in danger of being lost forever due to the expropriations of works in precious metals ordered by Napoleon Bonaparte during his stay in Malta on his way to Egypt.

The presentation of the volume, postponed because of the pandemic, crowns a project begun about eleven years ago by Sante Guido with Giuseppe Mantella and is an opportunity to contribute to the knowledge of such a precious work intended for worship and devotion.