Verdala Palace is named for Grand Master Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle, under whom a hunting lodge was expanded into a palace in 1586. The lodge dated from the 1550s or 1560s. The Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar designed it. The style is Renaissance, possibly influenced by the Villa Farnese in Caprarola. It is built of limestone, with a rectangular plan and pentagonal bastion-like turrets at each corner. The main building has two floors, and the turrets rise about five stories.
Four artillery pieces sit on the roof, though the palace was not meant to withstand attack. Later Grand Masters embellished it in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was a military prison during the French blockade of 1798 to 1800.
It has been the official summer residence of the President of Malta since 1987. It is generally closed to the public.
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