For nearly 200years Palazzo Capua dominated the Sliema landscape. This splendid monument to a by-gone age has been referred to as probably one of the oldest and finest buildings in Sliema. Its allure is further enhanced by the romance bound to its past residents, most prominent among who were the star-crossed residents who gave it their name, Prince of Capua, Carlo di Borbone and his Irish wife Penelope. Palazzo Capua is first mentioned by Thomas MacGills Handbook or Guide for Strangers visiting Malta in the 1840s, who refer to it as a fine colonnaded palace built by a Russian banker, and the only building worth noting in the then village of Sliema.