On the 6th of September 1608, Betta Caloiro, a convicted heretic, passed away in her prison cell at the Inquisitor’s Palace, where she was serving an 8-year sentence, during which she allegedly had an intimate relationship with the devil.

While the Inquisitor attended to his duties in the upper floors of his grand palace, cooks were preparing ice cream in the kitchen downstairs – a cool treat in the sweltering Maltese heat!

The practice of printing was first introduced to the Western world in the 1400s by Johannes Gutenberg (c.1393-1406) in what is now modern-day Germany.

The Holy See established the Maltese Inquisition in 1542, just 12 years after the Knights Hospitaller arrived in Malta. For the first 32 years, the Bishop of Malta acted as the Inquisitor, judging spiritual offences.

Nestled in the historic town of Vittoriosa, Santa Scolastica Monastery has an exciting past. It was first used as a hospital by the Order of St John in 1530 and helped treat the wounded during the Great Siege of 1565.

Barely eating and considered either hysterical or holy, Francesca Teresa Parlar lived a modest life devoted to prayer and helping others but was persecuted by the authorities.

This tale takes us back to a time when there were very strict rules about who you could love, and Luca paid the ultimate price for breaking them.

During the 16th century, the Falsone family of Mdina played an important role in Malta’s public life, with several family members holding prominent leadership positions.