Inquisitor's Palace

The Inquisitor's Palace in Birgu is both a historic house museum and the national museum of ethnography. The building is itself part of the experience, and it was once the power centre of the Holy Roman Inquisition, which dominated Malta for more than 224 years. Today it is run by Heritage Malta, the national agency for museums and cultural heritage, and you can walk from the working kitchen to the grand halls and down to the prison cells of the Holy Office.

It sits in Main Gate Street, on the Grand Harbour side of the Three Cities, so it combines well with a day in Birgu. Our Vittoriosa guide and our Three Cities guide cover the surrounding streets, and our museums directory lists other places to visit.

A palace with many lives

The building dates from around the 1530s and first housed the Magna Curia Castellania Melitensis, a civil tribunal established in 1543 by Grand Master Juan de Homedes y Coscon. That court moved to the newly built Valletta in 1572. Two years later Pietro Dusina arrived in Malta as its first Inquisitor and Apostolic Delegate of Pope Gregory XIII, and Grand Master Jean de la Cassière offered him this building, which is how the palace got the name it still carries.

Inquisitors served as supreme judges of the Holy Office and as representatives of the Vatican's interests on the island. The palace was designed to impress, with a sophisticated residence for a powerful ecclesiastical diplomat alongside a tribunal and an austere prison complex. The French abolished the Inquisition when they arrived in 1798, and the building then served French and British rule and, after the Second World War, the Dominican Order. For more on the wider period, see our Knights of Malta guide.

What you can see inside

The visit falls into three parts. On the ground floor the historic domestic kitchen shows how the household ran. Above it the piano nobile, the main floor, has the official halls and private quarters across two floors, including the grand staircase, the Cancelleria and the inquisitor's bedroom. The third part covers the spaces of the Holy Office itself: the tribunal chamber, the torture chamber and the prison complex, with its punitive cell.

As the national museum of ethnography, the palace also highlights how the Inquisition affected Maltese society and the role of religion in daily life, with themes such as Good Friday and Easter traditions. A wing houses the National Textiles Collection. A busy outreach programme of events and educational sessions runs alongside the displays, and a virtual experience is available for those who cannot visit in person.

Tickets, access and facilities

Admission is €6.00 for adults, €4.50 for youths aged 12 to 17, seniors aged 60 and over, and concessions and students, and €3.00 for children aged 6 to 11. Infants aged 1 to 5 enter free, as do Heritage Malta members and passport holders. Tickets can be booked online.

The palace offers partial accessibility. Some areas cannot be fully reached by visitors with mobility impairment, and the site has uneven flooring, low lighting and low doorways. On site there is a gift shop, a food and drink outlet and an indoor and outdoor seating area. Guided tours can be requested through a form, which suits groups and anyone who would like a guide to bring the rooms to life.

The closest bus stop is about 3 minutes on foot. If you are planning a longer stay, our where to stay in Malta guide compares the main areas, and our things to do in Malta page has more ideas.

Planning your visit

The palace pairs naturally with Valletta across the harbour, and our Valletta guide shows how to make a day of it. Allow time to take in the staircase, the tribunal and the cells, and wear comfortable shoes for the uneven floors.

To ask about tickets, group visits or a guided tour, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the Inquisitor's Palace.