Palazzo Malta, officially named as the Magistral Palace, and also known as Palazzo di Malta or Palazzo dell'Ordine di Malta, is the more important of the two headquarters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a Roman Catholic lay religious order and a sovereign subject of international law. It is located in Via dei Condotti, 68 in Rome, Italy, a few minutes' walk from the Spanish Steps, and has been granted extraterritoriality by the Italian Government. The Palace has been a property of the Order of Malta since 1630.
View of Palazzo Malta
Plaque at the entrance
Courtyard of Palazzo di Malta
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly known as the Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of a military, chivalric, and noble nature. Though it possesses no territory, the order is often considered a sovereign entity under international law.
Blessed Gerard, founder of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Copper engraving by Laurent Cars, about 1725.
Portrait of an unknown Knight of Malta, by Titian, c. 1508, Uffizi
The Battle of Lepanto (1571), unknown artist, late 16th century
Emperor Paul of Russia wearing the Crown of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta (1799).