Type Palace Completed 1625 Function Palace | Status Intact Opened 1625 | |
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Similar Villa Francia, Inquisitor's Palace, Verdala Palace, Auberge d'Italie, Auberge de Castille | ||
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). 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. The palace has a simple layout, with its rooms arranged in a rectilinear layout. It has a plain façade, with few decorative elements.
A chapel dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo was built near the palace in 1763 by Inquisitor Angelo Maria Durini.
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.
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. It is occasionally open to the public.
The palace was included on the Antiquities List of 1925. Both the palace and its chapel are listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.