Is dediacted to St.Michael and the altarpeice depicts ‘St Michael the Archangel’. The altar facade of the chapel of the langue of France with its four twisted coloumns dates back to 1620’s and is one of the earliest that is found in St John’s Co-Cathedral though the the altar itself was redone in white marble by Melchior Alpharan De Bussan. The sole lunette that is found inside the chapel is dedicated to ‘The Apparition of St Michael on Mount Gargano’. The cupola of the chapel is adorned with the coat of arms of Grand Master La Cassier, whilst of Grand Master Cottoner and of the Order of St John can be seen carved on the penditive. A bird can be seen carved on the gilded walls of the chapel of the langue of Provence which represents a symbol taken from the coat of arms of the Grand Commander De Verdelin, a main benefector of the chapel.
The mausolea of the two Grand Masters belong to Antoine de Paule (1623-1636) and to the Grand Master Jean lascaris (1636-1657). The two mausolea are typically late mannerist style with various marble inlays and use of motifs. The monument of Grand Master Lascaris was ordered from the Florentine sculptor Covati in the mid-seventeenth century. Above the two mausolea, Mattia Preti, during his re-decoration of St John’s Co-cathedral, added a low relief composition with an allegory of the Order of St John victorious over the Ottoman enemy.
Inside the chapel of the langue of Provence, a flight of steps leads to the Grand Masters crypt which contains the interred remains of the first Grand Masters that ruled over the Order of St John between 1522 and 1623. The Grand Masters crypt was excavated underneath the main altar.
The chapel of the langue of Provence can be visited at St John’s Co-Cathedral Valletta
