The principal buildings which remain are the church of St John, which is become the principal mosque; the hospital, which has been transformed into public granaries; the palace of the grand master, now the residence of the pasha; and the senate-house, which still contains some marbles and ancient columns.
Boetius regarded it as the height of his good fortune when he witnessed his two sons, consuls at the same time, convoyed from their home to the senate-house amid the enthusiasm of the masses.
On that day, he tells us, while his sons occupied the curule chairs in the senate-house, he himself had the honour of pronouncing a panegyric on the monarch.
It is said that one of Zaleucus's laws forbade a citizen, under penalty of death, to enter the senate-house bearing a weapon.
To quiet the people and save the unhappy victim, two officers volunteered to conduct him to the senate house and there place him in arrest.
