The Palace Armoury

The Palace Armoury presents a large collection of armour dating back to the times of The Knights

The Palace Armoury is a very popular tourist attraction located in the capital city of Malta, Valletta. It is one of the most valuable historic monuments of European culture. The Armoury houses one of the world’s most extensive arms collections in its original buildings at the back and houses the most visible and touchable symbols of the past glories of The Knights of St. John.

The Order’s arsenal was transferred to the Palace by Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt in 1604, but in 1975 the whole collection containing 5721 pieces were moved to its present site on the ground floor. During the 1850’s the collection was supposed to be moved to London to be kept safe from future attacks, however this was never done and finally in 1860 The Armoury was officially opened, being Malta’s first public museum.

Today The Palace Armoury has several authentic items with German, French, Italian and Spanish origin. The collection also contains a very rare and unique example of a working arsenal surviving in its original building attracting many visitors.

More important pieces in the collection are the Italian Sallet, the fascinating La Vallette armour, the Wignacourt parade armour, the ‘Pompeo della Cesa’ armour, the Cuirassier armour, swords and rapiers, early crossbows, the Italian ‘snaphaunce’ pistol, heavy bronze artillery pieces as well as a smaller bronze canon.

When visiting The Palace Armoury in Valletta you will be given an audio guide which gives a detailed insight to the history of the military and the armoury’s many treasures.