Town Halls and Public Buildings to visit Valletta

At the entrance to the old town, this superb house, in authentic Spanish style, is today the administrative residence of the Prime Minister. It has been home to the knights of Castile, Leon and Portugal, i.e. Portuguese and Spanish speaking knights. Designed by Gerolamo Cassar, like many other buildings, the hostel was originally built in Renaissance style, but the great master Pinto de Fonseca had a Baroque façade erected in the 18th century. It is the most representative building of the Knights' era.

The Auberge d'Italie is now home to the MUŻA (Muzew Nazzjonali tal-Arti għall-komunita' - National Museum of Community Art). Inaugurated in November 2018 and receiving its first visitors since December 2018, the MUŻA was one of the flagship projects of the Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture program, with the aim of appealing to all audiences and not just connoisseurs like the previous National Museum of Fine Arts. And it does so by allowing them to discover the richness of Malta's heritage and culture. Taking its name from the Maltese word for inspiration, it features a collection of over 20,000 works covering a very broad period from prehistory to modern and contemporary times. A visit to the MUŻA will also be an opportunity to see works by Mattia Preti, the Calabrian artist and knight of the Order of St. John who introduced the Baroque style to Malta; Victor Pasmore, one of the pioneers of British abstract art in the ^mid-20th century, who retired to Malta and left his mark; Antonio Sciortino, the celebrated ^{twentieth-century} Maltese sculptor, whose work reflects realism and futurism as well as the influence of Rodin; and Edward Caruana Dingli, a Maltese artist whose portraits and captures of life in Malta in the early ^twentieth century ensured his importance in the island's artistic development.

The building. Construction began at the end of the ^16th century. The Auberge d'Italie was the headquarters of the Italian knights of the Order of St. John. Its style was initially Mannerist. From the ^17th century onwards, the building underwent numerous modifications, with its last major renovation in 1680, giving it its Baroque character. As its style evolved, so did its functions. Having once served as the National Museum and the House of Justice, the Auberge d'Italie was long home to the Central Post Office, and until the end of 2016 it housed the Ministry of Tourism and the Malta Tourism Authority. In order to house the MUŻA, the building has been carefully restored to highlight the various stages of its chronology. The main staircase, for example, has been rebuilt with contemporary materials to match current architectural trends, but remains the ghost of a past in the building's long history. The main courtyard has become a public space in its own right, allowing visitors to discover the beauty of this ancient building in the UNESCO city of Valletta.

This is the current headquarters of the State Property Department. The inn was built in 1696 by the Bailiff of Acre, Gaspard Camiero. It was then the residence of the former Grand Master of the Order, Marc Ottavio Zondadari, at the beginning of the 18th century. The Bavarian vocation of the palace dates back to Master Emmanuel de Rohan, who created the Anglo-Bavarian League in the Order. These knights were to defend the bastion of St. Lazarus, and their leader came to lead the cavalry and the coastguard. It was in 1824 that the palace became state property.

This Baroque building housed the prison and the knights'court. The two statues above the portal represent Truth and Justice. In the entrance you can see a sculpture of marble, the work of the Sicilian artist Maestro Gian. A large proportion of the accused and condamnés of the Priests'Revolt were executed in Coppi dungeons. Their heads were then promenées in the streets on spears.

At the corner of the two streets, the stone seat was reserved for condamnés. It is not clear what the use of the iron ring hung on the wall was, but was given all the torture functions imaginable. La is now the seat of the Ministry of Health.

Built in 1571, it welcomed the knights of Aragon, Navarre and Catalonia. Their chief was responsible for overseeing the refuelling. They defended the stronghold of Saint-André. With its unique level (around a court), it's the smallest hostel in the capital. It has remained virtually intact since its construction. The only addition is its entrance gate dating from the early th century. This hostel was the Prime Minister's residence from 1972 to 1921. It now houses a department and its access is therefore prohibited.

Built in the 16th century in a Mannerist style following the plans of Girolamo Cassar, this inn was enlarged in 1783 with the incorporation of part of the Casa Caccia, another 16th century palace, and continued to house the knights who spoke the language of Auvergne until Napoleon's expulsion of the order in 1798. And it was in the 19th century that the building was used to deal with judicial matters. Bombarded during the 1939-1945 war, it now houses the Court of Malta, a neoclassical-style building.