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Slaves' Prison

Slaves' Prison
Prigione degli Schiavi
Gran Prigione, Slaves' Prison.jpeg
View of the Slaves' Prison on the centre-left
Alternative names Gran Prigione
Bagnio
General information
Status Destroyed
Type Prison
Location Valletta, Malta
Coordinates 35°53′52.2″N 14°31′0.1″E / 35.897833°N 14.516694°E / 35.897833; 14.516694
Completed c. 1585
Destroyed 1940s–50s
Technical details
Material Limestone
Floor count 3
Design and construction
Architect probably Girolamo Cassar

The Slaves' Prison (Italian: Prigione degli Schiavi, Maltese: Il-Ħabs) officially known as the Grand Prison (Italian: Gran Prigione) and colloquially as the bagnio, was a prison in Valletta, Malta. It was established in the late 16th century, and remained in use as a prison throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. It was subsequently used as a naval hospital, a school and an examination hall. It was bombed in World War II, and the ruins were demolished to make way for a block of flats.

The Gran Prigione was established in around 1585 during the magistracy of Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle (1582–95). It was probably designed by the architect Girolamo Cassar. The building served as the Order of St. John's main prison, as well as a compound in which slaves were locked up at night. It could house around 900 inmates.

After 1615, the prison was supplied by water from the Wignacourt Aqueduct. A Turkish slave who had been a hydrologist in Constantinople reportedly helped in the construction of the aqueduct, and in recognition of his work he was given his freedom and the prison became one of the first buildings in Valletta to be supplied by running water.

By 1631, part of the building was used as the Infermeria delle Schiavi, a hospital where ill land-bound slaves were treated. Sick galley slaves were not treated there but at the Great Magazine Ward of the nearby Sacra Infermeria.

In the Conspiracy of the Slaves of 1749, slaves at the Grandmaster's Palace planned to revolt, free the other slaves from the Slaves' Prison, and take over Fort Saint Elmo and the rest of Valletta. After the plot was discovered and brutally suppressed, a decree was issued stating that all slaves were to be locked up at the prison at night.


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