An armoury sounds like a dry subject until you stand in front of a suit of armour that was made to fit a real person. At the Palace Armoury in Valletta, you can see many of them, together with the swords and firearms that went with them.
A working arsenal
The collection was gathered by the Order of St John during its rule over Malta, and it counts among the finest surviving collections of arms and armour in the world. Before it became a museum it was a working arsenal that equipped the Order’s soldiers and galleys.
That function matters. These are not decorative trophies. The weapons were kept ready for use, and the Order had to arm a navy and a garrison on an island that was always under threat of attack.
Stables and magazine
The collection is displayed in the former stables and magazine of the Grandmaster’s Palace. The rooms are long and vaulted, and the cases line the walls so that the armour appears in a continuous row. The setting fits the objects well, with plain stone and low light.
Compared with the state rooms upstairs, which are richly decorated with frescoes, the armoury is practical and solid. The contrast shows two sides of the Order: ceremony and war.
Highlights
The gilded parade armour of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt is the outstanding piece. It was made for display, with rich decoration, and shows how a ruler wished to be seen. Compare it with the plain battlefield pieces nearby and the difference in purpose is clear.
Other displays include suits of armour, swords, firearms, cannon and ceremonial objects. There is also equipment captured from the Ottomans, which links the armoury to the Great Siege of 1565.
What to look for
Look at the joints and the helmets. Armour had to allow movement, and the jointed plates on arms and legs show the engineering behind it. Check the surfaces for repairs and marks; they often show that a piece was used rather than made for show.
Firearms are another useful comparison. Firearms of different periods appear in the cases, and the changes from one type to the next show how quickly the technology moved during the Order’s more than two and a half centuries on Malta.
Reading the Order through its weapons
The Order of St John was a religious order that fought. Knights took vows, lived in a convent-like community and defended Christian shipping against corsairs and larger Ottoman forces. The armoury is the place where those two sides meet, because the objects were made for fighting and kept by a community that also prayed, healed and governed.
After the Great Siege of 1565 the Order built Valletta as a fortress city, and its weapons were stored close to the ruler’s residence. When the Order left Malta in 1798, much of the stock remained, and later it was added to by British administrators. That history of repeated use and storage explains why so much has survived.
Armour for different jobs
Not all armour is the same. Some suits were made for the field, with thick plate and little decoration. Others were for tournaments or processions. Gilding and engraving mark display pieces, while battle pieces carry dents and plain finishes. Learning to tell them apart is a good small project for the visit.
Look also at the sizes. Many suits are smaller than you would expect, and the shape of the chest and the visor of the helmet show how the wearer saw and breathed. For children, this is often the most interesting part of the visit.
Combining with the palace
The armoury shares a building with the Grandmaster’s Palace, which also contains the state rooms. Many visitors do both in one trip. The rooms upstairs have frescoes and tapestries, and the armoury shows the practical side of the same institution.
A short walk takes you to the Manoel Theatre, the Main Guard and the Anglican cathedral of St Paul. St John’s Co-Cathedral, a few minutes away, completes a strong morning of Knights-era Valletta.
Practical points
No hours or fee are listed here, and arrangements for the palace complex can change. Check before going, and keep some flexibility in case parts of the palace are closed for official events, which does happen.
A visit takes about an hour. Go in the morning, when the stone rooms are cool and the crowds from cruise ships have not yet arrived. Walk down to the Upper Barrakka Gardens afterwards for a view across the Grand Harbour.
