Spinola Palace ( mt, Palazz ta' Spinola; it, Palazzo Spinola), also known as Spinola House, is a

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

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 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.

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 ( mt, San Ġiljan) is a town in the Central 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-or ...

. In the 1720s, the Italian artist

Nicolau Nasoni Nicolau Nasoni (or originally Niccoló Nasoni, 2 June 1691 – 30 August 1773) was an Italian artist and architect mostly active in Portugal. He became one of the most influential figures in Portuguese Baroque architecture with his original and v ...

painted

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' 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 plaste ...

es on the palace's ceiling. The palace remained in the hands of the Spinola family until 1780. Architect

Romano Fortunato Carapecchia Romano Fortunato Carapecchia (1666–1738) was an 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. Biogra ...

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. Lombard Bank 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 Buildings and structures in Valletta Baroque palaces in Malta Bank headquarters Bank buildings Headquarters in Malta Spinola family Office buildings in Malta

History

Further reading

References