Having passed down into the hands of 62 Italian Inquisitors over the years, the Inquisitor’s palace is an amalgamation of each of these men’s personal tastes, and has developed a distinctive style reminiscent of a Roman Palazzio. With sand coloured walls, high arches, frescoes on the ceiling and domed shaped roofs, it is a singular sight in today’s world, considering how it is one of the very few buildings of its kind remaining today. Refusing to bow to modern urbanisation and even withstanding the World War II bombings, this building has stood strong as a reminder of this significant period in Malta’s past.

The palace holds an eerily haunting feel, and is shrouded in mystery and speculation. The inquisition was a time when the Catholic Church went above and beyond to enforce its teachings and shun the uprising of Protestant revolutionaries. To the locals, merely hearing the name of this palace incites feelings of unease, as rumours of what went on behind its doors still circulate today. Largely recognised as a place of torture and punishment used by the Holy Office, the rooms of the palace are tainted with the horrors that might once have taken place here. Legend has it that the palace even contained a pit of knives, where those who dared to oppose the church were tossed into, condemned to fall to a painful death.

Fortunately, the palace has since come far from its dark days as a place of refuge, having acted as a military hospital, a mess hall and even a convent. Today it serves the harmless function as a National Museum of Ethnography, to edify people on Malta’s history and culture. But still, the remnants of unspeakable times past linger in the air, visit to experience it for yourself, if you dare…