Spinola Palace (; ), also known as Spinola House, 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 ...

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 ...

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 belonged to the Spinola family between the 17th and 18th centuries. One third of the building was demolished in the 20th century, but the remaining two wings still exist and are now used as the head office of

Lombard Bank Lombard Bank Malta Plc is one of Malta's major banks, together with Bank of Valletta, HSBC Bank Malta and APS Bank. The Government of Malta through the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF) owns 49.1% of the bank. It acquired these shar ...

History

The palace originally belonged to Fra Giovanni de Villaroel, the Balì of Noveville. In 1660, the palace was transferred to Fra Paolo Raffaele Spinola, the Balì of Lombardy, who later built another Spinola Palace in

St. Julian's Saint Julian's () is a town in the Eastern Region of Malta. As of 2020, its registered number of inhabitants stands at 13,792. It is situated along the coast, north of the country's capital, Valletta. It is known for tourism-oriented businesse ...

. In the 1720s, the Italian artist Nicolau Nasoni painted

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es on the palace's ceiling. The palace remained in the hands of the Spinola family until 1780. Architect Romano Fortunato Carapecchia have given the palace a baroque facelift, from an austere façade, in the eighteenth century. Palazzo_Spinola_Christopher_Street

The palace was divided into three parts in 1922. The wing facing St. Christopher Street was demolished to make way for apartments, while the other two wings were used as private houses or offices.

acquired the wing facing Republic Street in the 1970s, and converted it into their head office. The wing facing St. Frederick Street was also acquired by Lombard Bank in the 2000s. It has since been restored and renovated.

References

{{Valletta Palaces in Valletta Baroque palaces in Malta Bank headquarters Bank buildings Headquarters in Malta Spinola family Office buildings in Malta

History

Further reading

References