page_title: Vilhena Palace
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Vilhena Palace / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Vilhena Triumphal Gate
context_page_description: Vilhena Palace, also known as the Magisterial Palace and Palazzo Pretorio, is a French Baroque palace in Mdina, Malta. It is named after António Manoel de Vilhena, the Grand Master who commissioned it. It was built between 1726 and 1728 to designs of the French architect Charles François de Mondion, on the site of the meeting place of the Università. The palace was used a hospital in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it became known as Connaught Hospital after 1909. Since 1973, it has been open to the public as Malta's National Museum of Natural History.
context_section_description: Vilhena Palace is a large building which is considered to be "an excellent example of French Baroque." It has a U-shaped forecourt surrounded with loggias, which follows the plan of the original castle, and it possibly contains some remnants of the 16th century palace incorporated into the structure. The forecourt is approached through a gate decorated with Vilhena's coat of arms. The central façade of the palace contains the ornate main doorway, which is flanked by Corinthian columns and is surmounted by a bronze relief of De Vilhena and another coat of arms.
  The palace's interior is irregularly planned, contrasting sharply with the regularity and balance of the exterior. The building also contains an inner courtyard.
  Vilhena Palace is linked to the Corte Capitanale, which was built at the same time as the palace and was also designed by Mondion. This building served as Mdina's law courts, and its linking to the palace was a symbolic gesture to convey that the courts were under the jurisdiction of the Order of St. John. The Corte Capitanale now serves as the seat of Mdina's local council.
caption: The arch leading to the forecourt
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