Raphael Cotoner

Fra ' Raphael Cotoner i d' Olesa ( or even Rafael Raffaele, * 1601, † October 20, 1663 ) was the 60th Grand Master of the Order of Malta.

He belonged to the Aragonese tongue of the Order. As Grand Master, he served from June 6, 1660 until his death in 1663rd

Raphael Cotoner was a prudent and religious man. He commissioned the famous painter Mattia Preti the vault of the monastery church of St. John, the present-day St. imagine John's Co Cathedral in Valletta. The completion of the remarkable images that created this within 13 years in the monastic church, but Raphael did not live.

Like his brother and successor, Nicolas Cotoner, Raphael was also a great builder and their coat of arms is carved in Valletta and in other parts of the island in most facades of palaces, churches and fortresses. However, the artistic embellishment of the church of St. John remains her biggest contribution. It was a time of prosperity on the islands, but their mania for building and her extravagant taste was a drain on the treasury.