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The Palace

Dominating Palace Square, the Grand Master’s Palace which was built in 1571, has always been the House of Government in Malta, first by the Knights, then the British and now hosts the President’s office and Malta’s Parliament House.

In the interior of the palace is the famous Council Chamber. The other rooms and passages of the palace are splendidly furnished with art objects, old coat of arms and armour. Particularly notable are the former Hall of the Supreme Council of the Knights, which hosts fine frescoes and the Hall of the Ambassadors, where portraits of Grand Masters and European rulers hang.

On the basement floor is the Armoury, one of the largest collections of its kind in the world, though reduced to a fraction of its former size by the depredations of the French.