Medical History

Perhaps one of the most fascinating chapter in the story of Malta’s medical history is that pertaining to the Knights of St John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller. A number of buildings remain as testimony to this legacy, the most magnificent being the Sacra Infermeria, or sacred hospital. Built in 1574 under Grand Master de la Cassiere, this magnificent building achieved fame as one of the foremost hospitals of the period in Europe and could accommodate 914 patients in an emergency. Its largest ward, spanning an impressive 155 metres in length, was one of the largest in Europe at the time, and was described as ‘one of the grandest interiors in the world’.