All the documents that we could find prove that the building has been raised after the Great Siege in 1565. In the following years the city was planned to become “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen” as the knights ruling Malta at the time liked to say.

As we read in the history of Malta on the Visit Malta website “In its day, Valletta was a fine example of modern city planning. Designed on a grid system, now common in the United States, the city was carefully planned to accommodate water and sanitation and to allow for the circulation of air. Most towns and cities evolved over centuries, but Valletta, in contrast, was one of the first European cities to be constructed on an entirely new site.”

Palazzo del Pazzo has been most probably built in the end of the 1500’s or in the beginning of the XVII century. That is however not the most important part of the story… The real story, as well as its name begins around 1610 when a noble man from Italy came to Malta to seek redemption for the sins he committed in his motherland. His real name is unknown, yet his nickname became the name of the palazzo. How did that happen?

The nickname of the noble man was Pazzo which means “Madman”. He received it by the courtesy of his fellow countrymen somewhere in the south of Italy. He was young, handsome and rich in the earlier days of his life and didn’t spare a chance to use his magic on the women from the small Italian town. Casanova would be jealous knowing him, though some say he knew the story of the Pazzo and admired him dearly.

His life could be described in three words – women, wine, parties. According to the tales from the era, his parties were known in all Europe and he was also accused of making his ex-mistresses the prostitutes, who earned money for him to live his dangerous life. As he was also strong and fearless, no man in the small town dared to challenge him. Those who tried ended their lives earlier than they would wish. So in the small town the people began to call him the Madman – il Pazzo.

The nickname of the noble man was Pazzo which means “Madman”. He received it by the courtesy of his fellow countrymen somewhere in the south of Italy. He was young, handsome and rich in the earlier days of his life and didn’t spare a chance to use his magic on the women from the small Italian town. Casanova would be jealous knowing him, though some say he knew the story of the Pazzo and admired him dearly.

His life could be described in three words – women, wine, parties. According to the tales from the era, his parties were known in all Europe and he was also accused of making his ex-mistresses the prostitutes, who earned money for him to live his dangerous life. As he was also strong and fearless, no man in the small town dared to challenge him. Those who tried ended their lives earlier than they would wish. So in the small town the people began to call him the Madman – il Pazzo.