The Corte Capitanale is a former

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

Mdina Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...

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 ...

, which currently serves as a

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. It was built in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style between 1726 and 1728, to designs of the French architect

Charles François de Mondion Charles François de Mondion (6 October 1681 – 25 December 1733) was a French architect and military engineer who was active in Hospitaller Malta in the early 18th century. He was also a member of the Order of Saint John. Career Mondion was bo ...

. The building is linked to

Palazzo Vilhena Vilhena Palace (; ), also known as the Magisterial Palace () and Palazzo Pretorio, is a French Baroque palace in Mdina, Malta. It is named after António Manoel de Vilhena, the Grand Master who commissioned it. It was built between 1726 and 172 ...

, but it has its own entrance and façade.

History

The Corte Capitanale was built between 1726 and 1728 along with the rest of

, the Grand Master's official residence in Mdina. The building was mainly a

, but it also served as the seat of the ''Capitano della Verga''. Palazzo Vilhena interior

Its linking to the palace was a symbolic gesture to convey the fact that the courts were under the jurisdiction of the

Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

. The courthouse was also linked to the Bishop's Palace through a now-blocked underground passage, indicating the Church's role in the courts. During the French occupation of Malta, a Maltese doctor was accused of spying for the French by the Maltese insurgents. Despite not being found guilty by the court, the Maltese requested for him to be given a death sentence. Though the judge refused their demand, the Maltese assassinated him as soon as he exited the building. In 1813 Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball terminated and transferred the judicial power of the Corte Capitanale of Mdina to the Castellania in Valletta. Today, the Corte Capitanale is Mdina's

, being the seat of the city's local council. The council considers the building as inadequate, and in 2012 it requested to move its premises to the Banca Giuratale. It is not regularly open to the public, but the main hall is occasionally open with temporary historical or cultural exhibitions. 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, mon ...

Architecture

The Corte Capitanale is built in the French Baroque style. The façade is decorated by superimposed Tuscan and Corinthian pilasters, and a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

along roof level. A balcony is located above the main doorway, and it is decorated with allegorical statues of

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

. The inscription ''Legibus et Armis'' (by using laws and arms) is inscribed below the centrepiece of the façade. The courthouse incorporates some prison cells and dungeons, which had been built in the 16th century. The building is also linked to a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

known as Herald's Loggia, from which

town crier A town crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required. Duties and functions The town crier was used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dre ...

s used to announce decrees to the people. The loggia also predates the courthouse, and it is believed to date to the 17th century.

References

{{Mdina Former courthouses in Malta City and town halls in Malta Mdina Baroque architecture in Malta Government buildings completed in 1728 National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Limestone buildings in Malta 1726 establishments in Malta