page_title: Dragonara Palace
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dragonara Palace / History
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Dragonara Palace St. Julian's Malta ogrody i droga dojazdowa XIX/XX w.
context_page_description: Dragonara Palace, also known as Palazzo Dragonara or Villa Dragonara, is a palace in St. Julian's, Malta. It was built in 1870 as a summer residence for the Scicluna family, and it is now a casino called Dragonara Casino.
context_section_description: The Dragonara Palace was built in 1870 on Dragonara Point, which had been previously occupied by Ta' Għemmuna Battery. The peninsula where it is built was originally known as Għemmuna Point.
  The palace served as the summer residence of Emanuele Scicluna, a banker who became a marquis in 1875.
  During World War I, it was temporarily used as an officers' hospital. Later on, the Scicluna family hosted over 100 refugees in the palace during World War II.
  The palace opened as a casino on 15 July 1964, at a time when nearby Paceville began its transition from a mainly agricultural area to a tourist hub. The Dragonara Casino was the first casino in Malta, and this was a major step in establishing Malta as a tourist destination. In the 1990s, The Westin Dragonara hotel was built on part of the palace's gardens.
  The casino was privatized in 1999, and the company Dragonara Casino Ltd was set up to run the business for 10 years. The palace was restored in 2008. Two years later, the casino was taken over by Dragonara Gaming Ltd, who have spent over €15 million in renovating the building. It receives about 350,000 patrons annually, making it the most popular casino in Malta.
  The palace is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
caption: View of Dragonara Palace and its gardens in the late 19th-century
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