Grand Master's Palace — Local services in Valletta

The entrance to the museum, comprising today only the Palace State Rooms and the Palace Armory, is through picturesque Old Theatre Street and leads you to the Prince Alfred Courtyard, adorned by a beautiful clock tower. The clock was designed in 1745, even if local tradition affirms that the clock was actually brought to Malta in 1530 when the Knights of St. John had to leave their previous home in Rhodes.

The visit begins with the State Rooms, located on the second floor (third floor for you Yanks) of the palace (elevator available if you are disabled). Audio guides are included with admission and detailed information and explanations are available at numbered spots along the way.

To start the tour, you immediately enter a beautiful and long corridor, housing the portrait gallery of the Grandmaster's of Malta's Order of St. John. Both ceiling and floor are elaborately decorated, the ceiling with frescoes and the floor with ornate marble, and rows of antique armor along each wall to welcome you.

Following the audio guide numbers in the various rooms, you next enter the Tapestry Hall (where photos are not allowed and the light is rather dim), containing “the only complete and intact set of the famous 18th century French Gobelins tapestries, entitled Les Teintures des Indes, in the world” (Heritage Malta Website). The tapestries are huge and impressive, even if one cannot make out all the details due to distance (security) restrictions and the scarce illumination.

The next room, the State Dining Hall, is used today to entertain dignitaries and Heads of State. It is spacious but sparsely furnished, being adorned by several portraits of Presidents of Malta, as well as by one at the front of the room of Queen Elizabeth II, Malta's former monrach.

The most impressive room is no doubt the Throne Room, today the place where the President of Malta holds state functions, but originally known as the Supreme Council Hall and used by the Grandmasters to host ambassadors and dignitaries. The upper part of the hall is decorated by a series of 13 frescoes dating back to 1575-81 and representing the events of the Great Siege of Malta (1565), an impressive and comprehensive visual narration of the historical event by created by Matteo Perez d’Aleccio (1547-1628).

Your visit continues with the Ambassador’s Room in dark red and with the Page’s Waiting Room, notable for the famous painting of Jean de la Vallette (1495-1568), the Grandmaster who led the Knights of St. John to victory during the Great Siege of Malta and who gave his name to Valletta, laying the city's foundation stone in 1566.

The rest of the palace is not accessible, so you get to walk through the beautiful corridors and portrait gallery again, go down the stairs (or take the elevator) and return to the ticket office, from where your visit to the Armory begins.

Immediately after the ticket office you can admire the Grandmaster’s Carriage (18th century) and then enter the two rooms that were once the stables but where the arms collection was moved in 1975-76. Even if armor and weaponry are not really your thing, this armory is worth visiting because it includes the personal armor of some Grandmasters and several Ottoman (Turkish) weapons from the Great Siege of Malta.

Overall, the State Rooms and the Armory were an interesting journey through the complex and fascinating history of Malta. At €17.00 for two (€10 Adults and €7 Seniors - 60+), entry is a bit on the expensive side, considering that you only see a few rooms of the palace and that they sell only joint admission tickets for both the State Rooms and the Armory. There are many sites on the island that are much less expensive and equally, if not more, impressive, than the palace tour.

CombatCritic Gives The Grandmaster’s Palace And Armory 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More...

Minus 1 star for very restricted tour over Parlament and State Rooms part, rooms are dark, and especially one with arrases poorly described, not to mention portraits of presidents, which would be good to see and read about to know little more of modern history of the country. Nice to see it's working Parlament building (plates on doors etc.), and how close that is (seems to be?) to people and history, rare in bigger countries I think.

Armoury is the better part, very rich in exibits it gives an idea of how powerful and important was Order of Saint John. Good to know a little about arms history (armours, cross bows, muscets etc.) before entering to fully appreciate...

Se ti trovi in vacanza in Malta un passaggio obbligato, se lo trovate aperto, è certamente, quello che attualmente è il palazzo del Presidente.

Un tempo fu Il Palazzo del Gran Maestro Pierre de Monte, dell'Ordine dei Templari, che lo utilizzo come dimora e dove trasferì la sede dei Cavalieri. Acquistato dall'Ordine nel 1574 vennero, negli anni a venire e in tempi diversi, apportate diverse modifiche ed ampliamenti, aggiungendo al palazzo nuovi elementi barocchi.

Dal 1800, con la dominazione inglese, il Palazzo del Gran Maestro fu trasformato nella residenza ufficiale del Governatore di Malta, e fu quindi rinominato Palazzo del Governatore. Gli inglesi si assunsero il compito di apportare alcune modifiche architettoniche.

Dal 1921 al 2015, il Palazzo del Gran Maestro è stato la sede del Parlamento maltese e, con l’indipendenza, anche degli uffici del Presidente della Repubblica. Oggi, il nuovo Parlamento sorge vicino alle porte della città, ma il palazzo continua ad ospitare gli uffici del presidente.

All’interno del Palazzo del Gran Maestro si trovano alcune sale aperte al pubblico, famose per le opere di alto livello in esse contenute. Come in tutti i palazzi dell’epoca, le stanze principali si trovano al primo piano, ovvero al Piano Nobile, mentre il piano sottostante ospitava le stalle, il magazzino e gli ambienti della servitù. Le Sale: La Sala del trono, la Sala degli Arazzi e la Sala dell'Ambasciatore.

Suggestivo è Il Cortile di Nettuno, prende il nome dalla statua in bronzo della divinità lì conservata. Nel cortile si torva anche una fontana risalente agli inizi del XVIII secolo.

Un piccolo neo: Il Palazzo è uno dei gioielli di Valletta, ma l’organizzazione lascia molto a desiderare. Tutto il percorso visitabile e privo di targhe in grado di spiegare cosa si sta vedendo, le sale sono visibili praticamente solo da un angolo e la sala degli arazzi viene tenuta...