European Heritage Tours: The Grand Master's Palace

On Saturday 28th June,  EPLO Valletta, together with Heritage Malta, organised another of its successful EU Heritage Tours which this time took place at the recently-renovated Grand Master's Palace in Valletta. 

The aim of these tours is to make the public aware of the way EU funds are  being used to restore national heritage sites apart from being applied to other national priorities.  To this end, two of the team of Heritage Malta architects that have worked on the restoration of the Palace, Perit Katya Maniscalco and Perit Veronica Micallef, gave two simultaneous tours in Maltese and English respectively with a specific focus on the restoration works that were carried out. 

Dr Mario Sammut, Head of EPLO Malta, highlighted the importance of these visits, in particular in the context of the particularities of this year, with the start to negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Ms Elaine Cordina, Public Relations Officer, EPLO Malta, delivered a brief explanation of the long-term budget of the EU (the MFF), its priorities, where the contributions come from and how the Budget is then in the large part directed back to the Member States under the form of funds and grants that contribute towards projects such as that of the Grand Master's Palace itself.

The highlight of the renovation is the opening of nine historic rooms within the Grand master’s former summer quarters. These include the drawing Room, Study, Bedroom, Chapel and more. Each space has been carefully restored - rejuvenating wooden ceilings, frescoes, damask textiles, marble and flagstones. Many of the spaces include furniture and artefacts from the 16th to 18th centuries. Another aspect of the tour, which was of great interest to our guests, was the restoration of the Armoury to its original location, the former parliament Chamber. It displays one of the world’s finest collections of weapons and armour. 

A total of 18,000,000 euros from the European Regional Development Fund was dedicated to this project, which started in 2016 and which was completed in 2023. The palace doesn’t just tell the story of Malta, it invites you inside it.