Malta in a Minute: Santo Spirito Hospital

Santo Spirito hospital, located in Rabat next to the Church of St Francis, was the first hospital on the island. It was already functioning in 1372. At the time, Mdina was Malta’s capital city and this hospital was just minutes away from its gates. When the Knights of St John established Valletta as Malta’s new capital city, they built two hospitals (one for men and the other for women) there. From then on, Santo Spirito served the rural central region, especially poor patients and foundlings.

Many  people are curious about a feature known as la ruota that can still be seen on the façade of this building. Basically, it is a rotating device in which people could place unwanted babies that would then be taken care of by nuns – one of the sad facts of medieval life.

Santo Spirito hospital was closed down in 1967. It was subsequently restored and now houses the National Archives. In 2010 the old pharmacy was rehabilitated and furnished with chemicals and equipment that would have been prevalent in the days prior to the advent of the modern pharmaceutical industry.

Santo Spirito Hospital, Old Hospital Street, Rabat