The Palace Armoury ( mt, L-Armerija tal-Palazz) is an arms collection housed at the
Grandmaster's Palace in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. It was the main armoury of the
Order of St. John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
in the 17th and 18th centuries, and as such it was the last arsenal established by a
crusader military order. Although today only a part of the original armoury still survives, it is still one of the world's largest collections of arms and armour still housed in its original building (although not the original location). The Palace Armoury has been open to the public as a museum since 1860.
History
![ARMOURY OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/ARMOURY_OF_THE_KNIGHTS_OF_MALTA_2.jpg)
In 1604, the Order's arsenal was transferred to the Grandmaster's Palace by
Alof de Wignacourt
Fra Alof de Wignacourt (1547 – 14 September 1622) was a French nobleman who was the 54th Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 10 February 1601 to his death in 1622. Unlike a number of the other Grand Masters, he was popul ...
, and was housed in a large hall at the rear of the building. At the time, it contained enough arms and armour for thousands of soldiers.
The armoury was rearranged under
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (also ''Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca''; 24 May 1681 – 23 January 1773) was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death.
He undertook many building projects, introduc ...
's magistracy in the 18th century.
Parts of the armoury are believed to have been removed and shipped to France during the
French occupation of Malta
The French occupation of Malta lasted from 1798 to 1800. It was established when the Order of Saint John surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in M ...
in 1798–1800, as part of "the organised robbery of art treasure and historic treasures" carried out by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. In the early 19th century, the armoury was altered by the British with the addition of
Egyptian style column-like supports. These were removed and returned to England in 1855.
In the late 1850s, the armoury was restored under the personal direction of Governor
John Gaspard Le Marchant, and it opened to the public as a museum in 1860.
In around 1900, the armoury's collections were catalogued by
Guy Francis Laking
Sir Guy Francis Laking, 2nd Baronet (21 October 1875 – 22 November 1919) was an English art historian and the first keeper of the London Museum from before its opening until his death.
Life
Laking was born in 1875, the only son of King Ed ...
, who published a book entitled ''The Armoury of The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem''.
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the hall housing the armoury was damaged by aerial bombardment on 7 April 1942. The collections were subsequently transferred to the basement of the Grandmaster's Palace or to
Girgenti Palace
Girgenti Palace ( mt, Palazz tal-Girgenti) 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 ( mt, Palazz tal-Inkwiżitur). It is now an ...
for safekeeping. The hall was repaired after the war, and the armoury reopened in 1948.
In 1969,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
sent Polish experts Aleksander Czerwiński and
Zdzisław Żygulski to make an inventory of the armoury, and they called it one of "the most valuable historic monuments of European culture" in their report.
![Valletta-grandmasters-palace-armoury-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Valletta-grandmasters-palace-armoury-01.JPG)
In 1975, the collection was transferred from its original location to two former stables on the palace's ground floor, where it remains today. The original armoury was converted into the meeting place of the
Parliament of Malta
The Parliament of Malta ( mt, Il-Parlament ta' Malta) is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the President of Malta. By const ...
, and was used as such from 1976 to 2015, when a new purpose-built
Parliament House was inaugurated near the entrance of Valletta.
A study of the armoury was carried out by historian
Stephen C. Spiteri in 2003.
Today, the museum is managed by
Heritage Malta
Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju 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 replaced the former Museums Department.
Or ...
, and it is open daily from 9.00 to 17.00.
Collection
![Cannon Palace Armoury Valletta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Cannon_Palace_Armoury_Valletta.jpg)
The collections of the Palace Armoury include:
*several suits of armour belonging to knights of the Order of St. John, mainly dating from around 1550 to 1650. These include the personal armour of Grand Masters
Martin Garzez Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
and
Alof de Wignacourt
Fra Alof de Wignacourt (1547 – 14 September 1622) was a French nobleman who was the 54th Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 10 February 1601 to his death in 1622. Unlike a number of the other Grand Masters, he was popul ...
, and Grand Commander Jean-Jacques de Verdelin.
*many suits of battle armour for regular soldiers, dating from around 1550 to 1650. These were mainly manufactured in Italy, but some were made locally or in France, Spain or Germany.
*many firearms, swords, and other weapons, dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries. These include some
Ottoman arms captured during the
Great Siege of Malta
The Great Siege of Malta ( Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May to 13 September ...
in 1565.
*several cannon and other artillery pieces, which were used to arm the various
fortifications of Malta
The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, Watchtower, towers, Artillery battery, batteries, redoubts, Entrenchment (fortification), entrenchments and Pillbox (military), pillboxes. The fortifications we ...
.
These date back to the 15th to 18th centuries.
Two of the cannons were retrieved from sea in 1964 from a knights period shipwreck in
Mellieħa
Mellieħa ( mt, il-Mellieħa ) is a large village in the Northern Region of Malta. It has a population of 10,087 as of March 2014. Mellieħa is also a tourist resort, popular for its sandy beaches and natural environment.
Etymology
The name ''M ...
.
Some modern armament dating back to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
was also included in the collection.
When the armoury was moved in 1975, these were transferred to the
National War Museum
The National War Museum is a museum dedicated to warfare, which is located inside Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1933 in a converted 18th-century ordnance storehouse, the museum is run by the National Museums Scotland and co ...
in
Fort Saint Elmo
Fort Saint Elmo ( mt, Forti Sant'Iermu) is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort ...
.
Further reading
*
References
External links
{{Authority control
Armories (military)
Museums in Valletta
Military and war museums
Museums established in 1860
1860 establishments in Malta
Sites managed by Heritage Malta
Armour collections