Palazzo Falson — Mdina's oldest secular building (13th century), with Captain Gollcher's art collection. A house museum where time has stood still.
Palazzo Falson is the oldest surviving secular building in Mdina, with parts dating to the 13th century. Built in the Siculo-Norman style, with a characteristic bifora window on the façade, it served as a residence for Maltese aristocracy for centuries. The name comes from the Falson family who lived here in the Middle Ages.
In the 20th century, the palazzo was acquired by Captain Olof Frederick Gollcher — a Maltese aristocrat, collector, and art patron. Over decades he filled the interiors with paintings, silver, weapons, clocks, books, and furniture from across Europe. After his death, the palace was turned into a house museum, preserving the rooms exactly as Gollcher arranged them. It is like stepping into a private residence from another era.
The collection includes paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries, oriental porcelain, astronomical clocks, and a library of rare manuscripts. But the greatest impression is made by the building itself — stone staircases, medieval vaults, a courtyard with a fountain, and rooftop views across all of Malta. It is one of the places that best captures the atmosphere of Maltese nobility from centuries past.
Practical tip: Entry EUR 10, worth it. One of Malta's most beautiful museums, far less known than the palaces in Valletta. Close to Mdina Cathedral.
Entry: 10 EUR. Worth it — one of the most beautiful houses in Malta.
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St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina stands where tradition says St. Paul met governor Publius after his shipwreck on Malta in 60 AD. Current building from 1702, after an earthquake.
A boutique hotel in Mdina with a confessional-telephone and a terrace overlooking half of Malta. Where prowadzący ends his episode. 5/5 shields.
Mdina, the "Silent City", was Malta's capital from antiquity to 1530. Arabs built the walls and gave it its name ("medina" = city). Today just 300 residents behind the walls, no car traffic.