Valletta - Sacra Infirmeria

Opposite Fort St Elmo, on the Grand Harbor side is the knights' old hospital, the Sacra Infirmeria, formerly one of the largest and best hospitals in Europe. The patients here, even those from outside the Order, were allowed to eat from silver plate, and the hospital also cared for the insane, and for destitute and illegitimate children.

When the French arrived on Malta, they ejected the patients and melted down the silver plate to help pay for the Egyptian campaign, although some still survive and are on display in Valletta's National Museum of Fine Arts.

The Great Ward of the hospital was a magnificent 154-meter-long vaulted hall. It has now been restored and is part of the Mediterranean Conference Center.