Palazzo Malta

Palazzo Malta
Palazzo Magistrale
View of Palazzo Malta
Alternative names	Magistral Palace Palazzo di Malta Palazzo dell'Ordine di Malta
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Palace
Location	Rome, Italy
Address	68, Via dei Condotti
Coordinates	41°54′19″N 12°28′50.1″E / 41.90528°N 12.480583°E / 41.90528; 12.480583
Completed	17th century
Renovated	18th century 1889–1894
Owner	Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Palazzo Malta, officially named as the Magistral Palace (Italian: Palazzo Magistrale), 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 (the other being Villa Malta), a sovereign chivalric order. 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 and is now the property of the Order.

On 12 June 1798, the French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte captured the island of Malta, which had been the base of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also called the Order of Malta. The Order had been given the island by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1530. Napoleon left the island with a sizeable garrison and a handpicked administration. Following a Maltese uprising, the British took over Malta on 5 September 1800. Malta was made a British colony on 30 March 1814 by the Treaty of Paris.

Thus, the Order of Malta was left without any territory, and it was effectively disbanded. It was restored, however, in 1834, under the new name "Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta", or simply the "Sovereign Military Order of Malta" (SMOM). New headquarters were set up at Palazzo Malta. In 1869, the Palazzo Malta, and the other headquarters of the Order, Villa Malta, were granted extraterritoriality. Today they are recognised by 106 countries as the independent headquarters of a sovereign entity, with mutual diplomatic relations established.