Inquisitor's Palace
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The Inquisitor's Palace (), also known as the Sacred Palace, is a
palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
in
Birgu Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...
,
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. It was the seat of the Maltese
Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
from 1574 to 1798, under the name Palazzo del Sant'Officio ().https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/handle/123456789/23509/L-iskejjel%20tal-gvern%20it-taghlim%20f%27Malta.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y The building was originally constructed as a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...
known as the Castellania in the early 16th century, but little remains of the original building due to major alterations and renovations carried out in the subsequent centuries. After the inquisition was abolished during the
French occupation of Malta The island of Malta was occupied by France from 1798 to 1800. The Knights Hospitaller surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in Maltese history (as ...
in 1798, the palace was used for a number of purposes, including as a military hospital, a mess hall and a convent. It has been a museum since 1966, being known as the National Museum of Ethnography since 1992. The building is one of the few surviving palaces of its kind in the world, and the only one which is open to the public.


History


Castellania

The palace was built in around the 1530s, and it initially housed the ''Magna Curia Castellania Melitensis'', a tribunal which was established by Grand Master Juan de Homedes y Coscon in 1543. The building's original design is attributed to the architects Diego Perez de Malfreire or Nicolò Flavari. It remained in use as a courthouse until 1572, when a new Castellania was built in
Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...
after the
Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...
moved their headquarters there.


Inquisition

The Inquisition was established in Malta in September 1574, with the first inquisitor being
Pietro Dusina Pietro Dusina was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Brescia who was the inquisitor and apostolic delegate to Malta between 1574 and 1575. Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the isl ...
. Grand Master
Jean de la Cassière Fra' Jean l'Evesque de la Cassière (1502 – 21 December 1581) was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1572 to 1581. He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order (now Saint John's Co-Cathedral) in Vallet ...
offered the former Castellania to Dusina as his official residence, who moved in after the building was renovated. The building became the headquarters of the Inquisition, serving as both a palace for the inquisitor and also housing the tribunal and prisons. A small room was used by Jews for prayers. Between the late 16th and 18th centuries, the various inquisitors who lived and worked in the palace made a number of major alterations to the building, and it was gradually transformed into a typical Roman palazzo with some
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
influences. The palace was enlarged with the acquisition of nearby properties, and the first major renovation began in the 1630s under inquisitor Fabio Chigi (later
Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...
). The façade was rebuilt in 1660 to designs of Francesco Sammut, although it is often mistakenly attributed to Francesco Buonamici. The palace was damaged during the
1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake was a natural disaster that struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, then a territory part of the Crown of Aragon by the Kings of Spain Calabria and Malta, on 11 January at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was ...
, resulting in further repairs and alternations. The upper floor was possibly built in 1707 by the architect Giovanni Barbara. The interior was also altered and embellished throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, with the main staircase being built in 1733 to designs of
Romano Carapecchia Romano Fortunato Carapecchia (1666–1738) was an Italians, Italian Baroque architect who was active in Rome, Malta and Sicily. His designs helped transform Malta's capital Valletta into a Baroque city in the first few decades of the 18th century ...
. Due to these modifications, the building has a somewhat labyrinthine plan. The only remains of the original Castellania is a small
courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...
with a Gothic
groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: La ...
cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
.


French occupation and British rule

The inquisition was abolished during the
French occupation of Malta The island of Malta was occupied by France from 1798 to 1800. The Knights Hospitaller surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in Maltese history (as ...
in June 1798. During French rule, the building was used as the headquarters of the Cottonera district. The coats of arms on the façade and some of those inside the building were probably defaced or removed at this point. Those forming the top hierarchy of the inquisition were given two days to leave the country. When Malta was taken over by the British in 1800, the building was passed on to the military authorities. It was initially used as a military hospital, and it was converted into a mess-house for officers stationed at the barracks near
Fort Saint Michael Fort Saint Michael () was a small fort in the land front of the city of Senglea, Malta. It was originally built in the 1552 and played a significant role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. Following the siege, it was rebuilt as Saint Michael Ca ...
in nearby
Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...
. Several alterations were made to the building by the British military throughout the course of the 19th century.pp. 87-88
Around the turn of the century, the building was transferred to the civil authorities in exchange for some property in Valletta. The Public Works Office made plans to demolish the palace and replace it by government apartments in 1908, but nothing materialized.


Museum

The Inquisitor's Palace was passed to the Museums Department in 1926, and an extensive restoration was carried out by Vincenzo Bonello and
Antonio Sciortino Antonio Sciortino (Ħaż-Żebbuġ; 25 January 1879 – 10 August 1947) was a Malta, Maltese artist, considered Malta's foremost sculpture, sculptor of the twentieth century. His career unfolded almost entirely in Rome, where he resided from 1900 ...
until 1939. In 1942, the palace was converted into a temporary Dominican convent after their original convent and church had been destroyed by aerial bombardment in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The palace survived the bombings, and it was transferred back to the Museums Department after the Dominicans rebuilt their convent in 1954. The palace was restored again and it opened as a museum called the Inquisitor's Palace on 21 February 1966. The upper floor became a Folklore Museum on 5 December 1981, but by the late 1980s the museum was in decline and only parts of it remained open to the public. The palace was fully reopened as the National Museum of Ethnography in 1992, and apart from a museum it also houses
Heritage Malta Heritage Malta () is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency (along with the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage) replaced ...
's ethnography section. Apart from exhibits relating to the inquisition, the museum's collections also include a number of wooden
architectural model An architectural model is a type of scale model made to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design intent. They are made using a variety of materials including paper, plaster, plastic, resin, wood, glass, and metal. Mod ...
s of destroyed landmarks, including representations of Birgu before the World War II bombings, the Order's bakery in Valletta before it was demolished in the 1930s, and the
Manderaggio The Manderaggio () is a neighbourhood in Valletta, Malta. It is located behind the Manderaggio Curtain of the fortifications of Valletta, on the side of Marsamxett Harbour. Originally intended as a mandracchio for galleys, it became a slum area ...
before it was rebuilt in the 1950s. The Inquisitor's Palace is one of the few surviving palaces of its kind around the world, and the only one which is open to the public. Many buildings used by the inquisition were destroyed during and after the French Revolution, or were left to decay over the centuries. The summer residence of Malta's inquisitor,
Girgenti Palace Girgenti Palace () is a palace near Siġġiewi, Malta. It was built in 1625 as the summer residence of Malta's inquisitor, and is therefore also known as the Inquisitor's Palace (). It is now an official residence of the Prime Minister of Malta. ...
, has also survived and it is now the summer residence of the
Prime Minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta () is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The prime minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The prime minister holds office b ...
. The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925. It is now a Grade 1 national monument, and it is also listed on the
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mon ...
.


Architecture

The Inquisitor's Palace is built in a number of architectural styles, but overall it resembles a Roman ''palazzo''. It has a symmetrical façade which is divided by
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
into five
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
. The piers on the ground floor are rusticated, while those on the first floor are smooth-faced. The central bay contains the main doorway on the ground floor, above which is an open balcony supported on
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s. Two windows flank either side of the central bay, and they have rusticated surrounds on the ground floor and mouldings on the first floor. A
string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
runs along the first floor window sill level. The façade also has a socle to make up for the steep slope of the street. Since the building was constructed over the course of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, with further alterations and restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries, its interior has a labyrinthine plan. One of the
courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...
s has a Gothic
groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: La ...
cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
, and this is the only part of the building that remains from the Castellania.


See also

*
Girgenti Palace Girgenti Palace () is a palace near Siġġiewi, Malta. It was built in 1625 as the summer residence of Malta's inquisitor, and is therefore also known as the Inquisitor's Palace (). It is now an official residence of the Prime Minister of Malta. ...
, originally the inquisitor's summer residence


Further reading


Il-Palazz ta' l-Inkwizitur tal-Birgu

Remains At Inquisitor’s Palace date back to pre-Knights periodFolkloremuseumopening


References


Bibliography

* *Bonnici, Alessandro (1968)
L'Inquisizione di Malta 1561-1798
. ''Melita Historica''. Retrieved on 2 August 2016.


External links


Heritage Malta
{{Authority control Palaces in Birgu Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century Limestone buildings in Malta Inquisition in Malta Former courthouses in Malta Defunct prisons in Malta British military hospitals Defunct hospitals in Malta Convents in Malta Museums in Malta Museums established in 1966 Museums established in 1992 Religious museums Religious museums in Europe National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Ethnographic museums in Europe Sites managed by Heritage Malta