Portrait of a Knight, a painting by Caravaggio, will be on exhibition at St John’s Co-Cathedral between 11 October and 16 December.

The painting will be lent to Malta by the Palatina Gallery of Florence to form part of the exhibition Caravaggio and Paintings of Realism in Malta.

The bringing over of the painting was made possible through a joint effort made by the Tourism and Culture Ministry, Dr Keith Sciberras from the University of Malta, the Malta Council for Culture and Arts and the Italian Embassy.

Caravaggio was in Malta between 1607 and 1608 and left several masterpieces here, including the Beheading of St John the Baptist, considered to be his best work.

The exhibition will be part of events marking the 400th anniversary since Caravaggio was in Malta.