What if we told you there’s a 400-year-old palace in Valletta where the owners still live—and they’ve opened the front door just for you? Welcome to Casa Rocca Piccola, Malta’s most surprising noble home. It’s part museum, part private residence, and packed with stories—duels, dinners, World War II secrets, and even a parrot that talks. From underground bomb shelters to rooms still used by the family today, this is your chance to walk through living Maltese history… and you won’t believe what’s inside.

Walk down Republic Street, just a short stroll from the Grandmaster’s Palace, and you’ll find a set of stone steps leading to Casa Rocca Piccola—an elegant, cream-colored townhouse hiding centuries of history behind its quiet doors. It’s still the private home of the noble de Piro family, who’ve lived here for generations, and who have opened it to the public to share a slice of Malta’s aristocratic past.

The house was built in 1580 by a knight of St. John, Don Pietro la Rocca. He designed it with the classic elements of a noble Maltese home: a large central courtyard for ventilation, grand limestone staircases, and airy upper rooms flooded with Mediterranean light. Over the centuries, the de Piro family added their own touches—filling it with antique furniture, books, artwork, and some very personal stories.

The guided tour takes you through over a dozen rooms. First stop: the courtyard. With its citrus trees, colorful tiles, and delicate wrought-iron balconies, it feels more Sicilian than stately. But then, you step inside.

The formal salon is filled with 18th-century portraits and hand-painted ceilings. The summer dining room has original blue-and-white porcelain from China and a huge table still used by the family. There’s a collection of silverware, glass cabinets full of fans and lace, and even a display of old Maltese wedding customs. You’ll pass through the blue room—once used for entertaining foreign dignitaries—and the library, with its creaking wooden shelves and centuries-old books on Malta’s maritime history.

One of the most touching rooms is the family chapel, complete with an ornate altar and a quiet sense of devotion. This isn’t a dusty museum—it’s a home with soul. You’re walking through real history, still in motion.

But then—things shift.

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The guide lifts a trapdoor and leads you down a narrow staircase, carved directly into the limestone. Welcome to the bomb shelter. During World War II, this underground chamber protected the family, staff, and even their pets from the German and Italian air raids that rocked Malta. It's dark, tight, and incredibly moving. Malta was one of the most heavily bombed places in Europe, and here, you feel the fear and resilience of that time.

Back upstairs, there’s more to discover—like antique costumes, ornate mirrors, and quirky objects collected through the ages. The stories flow with each room: family legends, tales of the Knights, and how the house adapted through the British era, independence, and beyond.

Casa Rocca Piccola is open from Monday to Saturday, between 10 AM and 5 PM, with guided tours starting regularly—just make sure you arrive before 4 for the last one. It’s closed on Sundays and public holidays. Tickets cost around 10 euros for adults, with discounts for students and children, and there’s no need to pre-book unless you’re a group.

https://www.casaroccapiccola.com/