A spotlight on Mellieha’s beauty: What’s in store for the historic Selmun Palace?
It was recently revealed that the majestic Selmun Palace in Mellieha is currently being used for filming, and could also be commercialised in the future... but how did it come to be in the first place? Here's a jump back into the palace's history.
The Selmun Palace
The Selmun Palace, also known as Selmun Tower, is an 18th century building built by the Monte delle Redenzione degli Schiavi, a charity that was founded during the reign of Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt in 1607 to finance the redemption of Christians enslaved by Ottomans or Barbary corsairs. Built in Baroque style, the site originally contained a coastal lookout post, and it was part of a large estate. The estate was rented out to the Knights as a place to relax and hunt wild rabbits.
Fast forwarding a little, during the period of the Maltese rebellion against the French, the British utilised the villa as a naval hospital, and later, a hotel known as Selmun Palace Hotel was built close by, and was also used as a wedding venue.
The palace nowadays
The location is currently being used for television productions. Two upcoming productions will use both the interior and exterior areas of the palace, and Government is trying to find the best ways to commercialise the building, adding that it might be used as a hotel.
Selmun Palace was scheduled by the Planning Authority as a Grade 1 national monument in 2012 and is currently in need of restoration. We hope it's time comes soon!