Girgenti Palace
Girgenti Palace | |
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Palazz tal-Girgenti | |
File:Girgenti Palace, Malta.jpg
View of the palace and the nearby chapel dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo
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Alternative names | Inquisitor's Palace |
General information | |
Status | Intact |
Type | Palace |
Location | Siġġiewi, Malta |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Current tenants | Prime Minister of Malta |
Completed | 1625 |
Owner | Government of Malta |
Technical details | |
Material | Limestone |
Girgenti Palace (Maltese: 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 (Maltese: Palazz tal-Inkwiżitur, colloquially tal-Inkisitur).[1] It is now an official residence of the Prime Minister of Malta.
History
Girgenti Palace was built in 1625 as the summer residence of Inqusitor Onorato Visconti, on a strip of land confiscated from Matteo Falson, who had been condemned as a heretic.[2] The palace has a simple layout, with its rooms arranged in a rectilinear layout. It has a plain façade, with few decorative elements.[3]
A chapel dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo was built near the palace in 1763 by Inquisitor Angelo Maria Durini.[4]
The palace remained the summer residence of the inquisitors until 1798, when the Inquisition was abolished during the French occupation of Malta. It was subsequently used as a summer residence for the Lieutenant-Governors of Malta. In World War II, some of the collections of the Palace Armoury were stored at Girgenti Palace for safekeeping.[2][5]
The palace was left abandoned until it was restored between 1988 and 1990, and converted into the summer residence of the Prime Minister of Malta.[6] It is occasionally open to the public.[7][8]
The palace was included on the Antiquities List of 1925.[9] Both the palace and its chapel are listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.[2][4]
References
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Girgenti Palace. |
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Maltese-language text
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Siġġiewi
- Official residences in Malta
- Buildings and structures completed in 1625
- Palaces in Malta
- Inquisition
- Prime ministerial residences
- Limestone buildings in Malta
- National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands