Vilhena Palace ( mt, Il-Palazz De Vilhena; it, Palazzo Vilhena), also known as the Magisterial Palace ( mt, Palazz Maġisterjali) and Palazzo Pretorio, is a

French Baroque French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

palace in Mdina,

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 is named after

António Manoel de Vilhena António Manoel de Vilhena (28 May 1663 – 10 December 1736) was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand ...

, the Grand Master who commissioned it. It was built between 1726 and 1728 to designs of the French architect Charles François de Mondion, on the site of the meeting place of the Università. The palace was used a hospital in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it became known as Connaught Hospital after 1909. Since 1973, it has been open to the public as Malta's

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

History

Background and construction

The site of Vilhena Palace has been inhabited since ancient times, and post-

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...

remains have been found in the area. In around the 8th century, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

fort was probably built on the site, and in the Middle Ages it developed into a castle known as the ''Castellu di la Chitati''. The castle's inner walls were demolished in the 15th century, and the remaining part was built up as a palace by Grand Master

Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam Fra' Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464 – 21 August 1534) was a prominent member of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes and later Malta. Having risen to the position of Prior of the ''Langue of Auvergne'', he was elected 44th Grand ...

in the 1530s. The palace was called the ''Palazzo Giuratale'', and it housed the civil administrative council known as the Università. The structure was damaged in the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7 ...

On 3 November 1722, the newly elected Grand Master,

, issued orders for the restoration and renovation of Mdina. The city entrance was completely rebuilt, and the seat of the Università was demolished to make way for a summer palace for the Grand Master. A new Banca Giuratale was built to house the Università following the demolition of its meeting place. Construction of Vilhena's new palace began in 1726, and it was completed two years later in 1728. The building was designed by Charles François de Mondion in the

style that was popular in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

ian hôtel palaces, and it was constructed under the supervision of the Maltese ''capomastro'' Petruzzo Debono.

Hospital

The palace served as a temporary hospital during a cholera outbreak in 1837. On 12 June 1860, the palace was converted into a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

by the British military. The palace was leased for £160 a year, and conversion of the building into a hospital cost less than £1000. The hospital was temporarily closed down in 1890, and it briefly served as a barracks. It reopened soon afterwards, and was finally closed down in 1907. The palace was reopened by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

on 22 April 1909, as a hospital for patients suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. It was known as Connaught Hospital after Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who donated £800 to buy new equipment for the hospital. The hospital was closed down in 1956.

Museum

The palace was inaugurated as the

on 22 June 1973. Its collections include samples of flora and fauna, fossils, rocks, minerals and dioramas of Maltese habitats. The palace's forecourt was restored in the early 2000s at a cost of around Lm46,000. It was inaugurated by the President of Malta,

Guido de Marco Guido de Marco, (22 July 1931 – 12 August 2010) was a Maltese politician, who served as the sixth president of Malta from 1999 to 2004. A noted statesman and lawmaker, de Marco also served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interi ...

, in July 2002. The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925. It is now a Grade 1 national monument, and it is listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mo ...

Architecture

Vilhena Palace is a large building which is considered to be "an excellent example of

." It has a U-shaped

forecourt Forecourt may refer to: * a courtyard at the front of a building * in racket sports, the front part of the court * the area in a filling station containing the fuel pumps * chamber tomb forecourt This article describes several characteristic arch ...

surrounded with loggias, which follows the plan of the original castle, and it possibly contains some remnants of the 16th century palace incorporated into the structure. The forecourt is approached through a gate decorated with Vilhena's coat of arms. The central façade of the palace contains the ornate main doorway, which is flanked by

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

and is surmounted by a bronze relief of De Vilhena and another coat of arms. The palace's interior is irregularly planned, contrasting sharply with the regularity and balance of the exterior. The building also contains an inner

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. Vilhena Palace is linked to the Corte Capitanale, which was built at the same time as the palace and was also designed by Mondion. This building served as Mdina's law courts, and its linking to the palace was a symbolic gesture to convey that the courts were under the jurisdiction of the Order of St. John. The Corte Capitanale now serves as the seat of Mdina's local council.

References

External links

Heritage Malta
{{Sovereign Military Order of Malta Vilhena Mdina Baroque palaces in Malta Houses completed in 1728 Defunct hospitals in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Limestone buildings in Malta 1726 establishments in Malta