Alfred Mizzi Foundation supports restoration of Inquisitor’s Palace

The Alfred Mizzi Foundation has supported Heritage Malta in the restoration of one of Malta’s, and perhaps the world’s, most unique historical buildings, the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa.

Thanks to the support of the Alfred Mizzi Foundation a series of six vaulted rooms pertaining to the original 16th century core have recently been subjected to extensive conservation and upgrading works, including the manual stripping of the paint and plaster layers (including extensive sections of cement rendering), the consolidation and repair of damaged stonework and repointing with compatible materials.

This project, which forms part of a more extensive visitor experience enhancement programme, entailed the conservation of six vaulted spaces that host the museum’s reception area, an introductory display on the Inquisition and the fabric of the Inquisitor’s Palace and a dedicated space for hands-on educational events.

A unique pre-1939 model of Vittoriosa by Ruzar Calleja has also been conserved and placed on display as part of this project. The newly conserved and refurbished areas are to be illuminated by an energy efficient lighting system and made fully accessible for people with mobility constraints. All conservation works were undertaken by Heritage Malta staff.

Erected shortly after 1530, the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa is one of the few surviving palaces erected by the Roman Inquisition in Europe and South America during the early modern period. Its gradual enlargement and modification during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and subsequent alterations and mutilations to suit the varying needs of its 19th century tenants sculpted a multi-faceted and labyrinthine architectural gem that mirrors the checkered history and European character of the Maltese Islands.

The gothic quadripartite vaulted courtyard and adjoining rooms hosted the Magna Curia Castellania, or civil law courts, until the transfer of the administrative centre of the Order to Valletta in 1571. The building was subsequently handed over to the Roman Inquisition following the appointment of Mgr. Pietro Dusina as first general inquisitor and apostolic delegate of the Islands in 1574.

These vaulted spaces are of considerable relevance to the study of Malta’s millennial architectural legacy and shed valuable information on the makeshift transformation of Vittoriosa into a political and commercial hub during the early phase of the Order.

The Alfred Mizzi Foundation was set up in 2004. The overall objective of the foundation is the promotion, diffusion and safeguarding of the Maltese culture and heritage, education, the environment and social solidarity.