The town of Sliema, Malta, is marked with high-rise apartment blocks and frustrating traffic. It was not always so and people have fond memories of days gone by. Few talk about the Prince of Capua and the Russian connection.
This article explains the history behind the building now known as Capua Palace.
The building
Crouching in what is now a back street in the city, Capua Palace is a familiar local landmark. The Palace is a boutique hotel and they built a clinic in the gardens.
In the early 19th century, this was the only building of note in Sliema. Thomas MacGill wrote about the place in 1839 in his ‘A hand book, or guide, for strangers visiting Malta’. He described Sliema as1:
‘A village […] to which is a pleasant drive but offers nothing attractive except a fine colonnaded palace built by a late Russian banker which we baptised Kremlin and he Selma Hall.”
The Chapel of Our Lady of Divine Grace is behind Capua Palace. In the 19th century, this part of Sliema was becoming the heart of the village.
I can imagine the country views from the estate must have been splendid in those days. The building is neo-classical; a marked contrast from Valletta’s Baroque architecture.
They built the neo-classical Mosta church in the 1860s and it’s connected to Rome and Ancient Egypt.
By Unknown – Royal Collection, Public Domain, Link
Local banker and shipper Biagio Tagliaferro built Selma Hall. Tagliaferro was a Genoan by birth but settled in Malta. He was instrumental in maritime shipping and commerce, specialising in Russian Black Sea grain trade2.
Tagliaferro took advantage of Malta’s mercantile economy and the opportunities at the time. These opportunities also created the Anglo-Egyptian Bank.
He rented Selma Hall to a Russian banker but there is little information about this tenant3.
The Prince of Capua
Later in the 19th century Carlo de Bourbon, Prince of Capua, resided there. The title of Prince of Capua went to the second son of the King of Naples. Ferdinand, Carlo’s brother, was already King in the 1830s leaving Carlo to his own devices.
In 1835 he fell in love with 20-year-old Penelope Smyth who was visiting Naples with her sister when they met4. They wanted to marry but Ferdinand refused to let his brother marry a commoner5. MacGill calls her an ‘Irish Princess'1 but he’s being kind because there’s nothing to suggest this.
At the time Ferdinand was facing the revolutionary Carbonari at home so he had plenty to worry about.
Ferdinand refused to allow his brother to dictate his life so on 12 January 1836 they eloped. On 5 April they married in Gretna Green, Scotland5.
Ferdinand never forgave his brother this indiscretion and Carlo had to live in exile6. He remained loyal to his wife and lost all royal estates, titles and privileges.
On 22 August 1836, Carlo and Penelope arrived in Malta. They stayed in a ‘handsome residence’ in Valletta according to the Times of London. It reported on a court case Carlo brought against the captain of the French steamer that took him to Malta7.
Just as the young lovers arrived in Malta, Captain Rinaldo Sciberras was setting off to fight the first Anglo-Sikh war in Ferozeshah
The Capuas in Sliema
Sometime in autumn of 18364 5 the couple moved to Selma Hall. They left and returned to Malta several times4. All their children were born here5.
Despite having left Valletta, the city was still the center of Maltese life. The Carnival Catastrophe of 1841 must have shocked the Capuas when they heard the news.
By 1841 Carlo attempted to repair the damage with his family. On 18 February 1841 The Times of London reported a letter published in January in Le Presse. It stated the Queen of the French and the Queen Dowager of Naples were trying to reconcile the two brothers8.
The loss of funds did not temper Carlo’s lavish lifestyle. Penelope had some income but her husband often caused financial embarrassment4. They even had a run in with bailiffs in Sliema4 before leaving for good on 22 August 18503 5.
Carlo and Penelope’s life in Malta overlapped with another famous Sliema resident – Dr James Barry.
Ferdinand relented and treated Penelope as royalty after all5. She got the title of Princess of Capua but this was short lived as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies collapsed in 18605.
After royalty
The Marchese Alfred Mattei owned Capua Palace up till his death in 1930, when his widow inherited it2. Mattei was a spokesman for the Laity at the 1913 Eucharistic Congress which was held between 23 – 27 April in Malta2 9.
We know Mattei already owned Capua Palace in January 1900 because he hosted the wedding of Inez Agius to Salvatore Cassar2. The 300+ wedding party benefited from his hospitality since Mattei was a great friend of Inez’ father, Edward T Agius2.
Mattei’s widow was British. Teresa Mattei née Bagshawe lived in Capua Palace till at least 29 May 1936 when she applied for a passport in Malta2. It’s likely she left Malta as war broke out because we know she died in Somerset in 19432.
The authorities used the building as an orphanage in the 1940s2 4. The authorities moved the orphans out of there and left the building to run down in the 1980s4. At some point an owner restored it and it’s now in use as the neo-Classical Hotel Palazzo Capua.
The title of the second son of the King of the Two Sicilies therefore lives on in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Sliema, Malta.
Please share this with friends who think they know all about Sliema
- A hand book, or guide, for strangers visiting Malta; Thomas MacGill; 1839[↩][↩]
- Conversation with Edward Agius’ great-grandson on Facebook; 2019-11-12[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Capua Palace incorporated in Victoria Hotel set-up; The Times of Malta; 2005-08-21[↩][↩]
- ‘Malta’ Itineraries; Holo Books; (Retrieved 2018-11-23) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- A scandalous affair – Princess Penelope (1815 – 1882); Turtle Bunbury; (Retrieved 2019-10-09) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Historical palace to form part of hotel; The Times of Malta; 2003-11-07[↩]
- The Times of London; 1836-10-29[↩]
- The Prince of Capua; The Times of London; 18 February 1841[↩]
- La Civiltà Cattolica anno 64° 1913, Volume 2; Congressi Eucharistici; (Retrieved 2019-11-12) [↩]