On Villegaignon Street, steps from Mdina's cathedral, Palazzo Falson is one of the oldest buildings still standing in the city. Parts of it date to the 13th century; the building you see today is largely 15th-century, built for the Maltese nobility in the Siculo-Norman style. A Swedish-Maltese collector, Captain Olof Frederick Gollcher, made it his home and filled it with furniture, armour, silver and art until his death in 1962. It opened as a museum in 2007, and a visit is unlike any other in Malta: seventeen rooms that feel genuinely lived-in, not emptied out and labelled.
Seventeen rooms, still lived-in
The house has seventeen rooms laid out across two storeys around a central courtyard. The collection spans five centuries and more than a dozen countries — armour, silverware, paintings, rare books, clocks, jewellery — all arranged as Captain Gollcher left them.
The courtyard and chapel
The central courtyard blends Arab and Mediterranean architectural influences; a small private chapel adjoins the main rooms. These spaces alone are worth the admission price.
The rooftop café
After the rooms, the rooftop café offers some of the best views in Mdina — over the city's limestone rooftops and out to the countryside. Audio guides are included in all languages.