Since St.Johns interiours can with all justice be described as Mattia Preti's own glory, one may well add some brief information on the carrier of the great master of barroc. He was born in 1613 at Taverna in Calabrea ; hence he is often refered to as il cavalier Calabrese. Although he travelled wildly - his first biographer claims he visited Spain and Flandes - his early artistic training took plac in Caravggist circles active in Rome were his older brother Gregorio hhad established himself.

By 1630 Mattia had moved to Rome encuntering the more subtle northern Caravaggist but more important still for his Art, he embraced the new Neo - Venetian currents. In Rome he carried the magnificent large - scale mural decoration in the apse of St.Andrea della Valla between 1650 - 1653, After wich he moved to Naples Preti was an aclectic master who did not have a fixed manner of his own but imbued influences from all around him wich he was always able to symthetize and harmonize at will.

Thus in Rome he absorbed the illusionist strik so vitl a feature of the art of an ather Great barocc decorator - Pietro de Cartona. He studied and imbued something of ather great painters of his time particularly the Emilian artists La Franco and Guercino, apart from Reni , and rubens. one may generalize by saying De Pretis art work was a skillful mixture of virtuousistic drawing, inclusive sculptural qualitys accived thrugh studies use of chiaroscuro, an arry of stunning illusionistic effects and Mastery of rich chromaticism in part learned from the great venetian masters, particularly Paolo Veronesc that Preti's art often echoes so successfully and altogether creatively.

Click here to see larger image of the vault ceiling

Pictures of the Vault, painted by Mattia Preti

The priest Zachary's vision in the Temple.	Mary visits Elisabeth, her kinswoman
Birth of John the Baptist	John indicates Jesus as the Messiah
Elizabeth praying flanked by two angels	John in the desert
Baptisim of Christ	God the Father in the act of blessing
John Preaching in the desert	Baptist arrested by Herod's emissaries
John handing a coin to a soldier	The imprisoned John interrogated by Priests and levites