Day 3 • Inquisitor’s Palace and Biennale

Day 3 of our adventure on the Maltese Archipelago and I had been at a loss as to which images to feature in this post. Another day of discovery, contrasts and way too many photos. I don’t know that I’ve ever visited another place that offers such rich and varied experiences around every corner, within such a small area. It’s extraordinary.

We have close to two weeks on Malta and Gozo - yet we already feel we may only scratch the surface. That said, we are spending five days on Gozo which is probably many more days than most visitors do but we are hoping to do some short hikes on the coast, explore the natural beauty and soak up the laid back vibe.

But back to Malta, today we strolled along the harbour, joined in the enthusiasm of a local marathon race, visited the Inquisitor’s Palace, explored another part of Three Cities and had a late lunch in a small out of the way Italian restaurant. It was a glorious sunny day so, with a few hours of daylight left, we wanted to stay outdoors and enjoy the harbour. We decided to make our first visit to Valletta, the capital of Malta and a 10 minute ferry ride away. The ferry ride is a real treat, providing another perspective looking back to The Three Cities and ahead to our destination. We had a few hours tootling around vibrant Valletta - a reconnaissance for a longer visit tomorrow or the next day - before taking the ferry back ‘home’.

With all of that, which photos to include today? I’ve landed on some images of our visit to the Inquisitor’s Palace - a fascinating place in its own right but with some sorry tales to tell. The things we do to each other in the name of religion!

At present, the Palace is also a venue for a number of exhibits from Malta Biennale 2024. I’ve only ever been to a few biennale events over the years, wasted on me - just a bit too weird. Usually the word biennale has me heading in the opposite direction. But when we came upon a small room with a very unusual ‘something’ hanging from the ceiling, The French and I were intrigued. Turned out to be an exhibit called Ingenuity by Italian artist Chico described in these (not very appealing) terms:

‘Ingenuity, 27 calf bladders, stabilized with alpine herbs of high antibacterial value, 18 vegetable raffia and pet raffia bindings. Accompanying photographic and pictorial overlays on recyclable acetate, site-specific, variable sizes, 2024.’

I loved it - so that’s the feature for today’s post.Read more