Verdala Palace — the Blue Lady

OVERVIEW

Verdala Palace stands in the Buskett Gardens near Siġġiewi. Built in 1586 by Girolamo Cassar for Grand Master Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle on the site of a hunting lodge, it has pentagonal corner turrets and a quarried ditch that make it look like a fort, though it was never meant to withstand attack. It was the British governors' residence and has been the summer residence of the President of Malta since 1987.

HISTORY

Zafire Hatun, a concubine of the Ottoman sultan captured by the Hospitallers in 1644, spent her final days here. During the French blockade of 1798–1800 the palace was a military prison for French soldiers; under British rule it was a silk factory, then abandoned, restored by Governor Sir William Reid in the 1850s, a minor hospital in 1915–16, and a store for the National Museum's works of art in the Second World War. Edward VII, Wilhelm II, George V, George VI, Tito and Gaddafi were among its guests.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

HEARSAY. The palace is 'supposedly haunted' by the Blue Lady, a niece of Grand Master de Rohan who, due to marry a man she did not like, jumped from the balcony of her bedroom; her ghost is reportedly seen roaming the palace in the blue wedding dress she wore when she died. The article gives no date or witness; filed UNVETTED until a source is found.

VISITING

Generally closed to the public; open for the August Moon Ball held every year for the Malta Community Chest Fund. The Buskett Gardens around it are open.