12. Exiled in Malta
Details are few, but it seems that Caravaggio did not mend his ways, and was forced to flee Naples after yet another unwise brawl. In 1607 he travelled to the small island of Malta, headquarters of the Order of St John, Catholic soldiers who waged war against Islam. By becoming a member, Caravaggio would be automatically pardoned for murdering Tomassoni, a ruse possibly suggested by the Colonna family, who had used the loophole in the past. Caravaggio successfully won favour with his paintbrush, and Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt received Papal permission to make Caravaggio a knight of the Order.
The Order of St John was fantastically wealthy, and at the time of Caravaggio’s arrival was in the process of decorating the recently-completed St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta. They must have been delighted with the good fortune of Rome’s most famous artist arriving on their tiny island. Thus, having joined the Order of St John, Caravaggio got to work on the Beheading of St John the Baptist (discussed in detail below). The picture so pleased de Wignacourt that he gave Caravaggio two priceless gold necklaces and a couple of slaves. Several other paintings followed, and Caravaggio lived like a king.
Unfortunately, trouble was never far behind Caravaggio. On the night before his Beheading of St John the Baptist was to be officially unveiled on the Baptist’s Feast Day, Caravaggio violently assaulted Giovanni Rodomonte Roero, a more senior Knight of the Order. Giovanni was wounded with a pistol, and Caravaggio was thrown in the imposing Fort St Angelo (above). Barely four and a half months after he was admitted to the Order, Caravaggio was kicked out of it for being ‘a foul and rotten member’. However, with the aid of an accomplice, Caravaggio managed a daring escape from his mighty prison.