About Malta - Museums

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Carmelite Church and Priory, Mdina

Located in the heart of the Silent City of Mdina, the Carmelite Priory has opened its doors to the public. The Carmelite friars who reside here invite you to experience both the spiritual and the daily way of life of their predecessors in this spectacular 17th century priory.

Casa Rocca Piccola, Republic Street, Valletta

Situated in the heart of the Capital City Valletta, Casa Rocca Piccola provides unique historical evidence into the customs and traditions of the Maltese nobility over the last 400 years. You can also see a collection of furniture, silver and paintings that add to the aesthetic riches of this country.

Cathedral Museum, Mdina

Treasures salvaged from the original earthquake cathedral are now housed in a splendid baroque palace which once served as a Diocesan seminary. The collection of paintings, prints, woodcuts and old master drawings is the legacy of Count Saverio Marchese (1757 - 1833), a wealthy patron of the arts.

Domus Romana (Roman Villa), Museum Esplanade, Rabat

Excavated in 1881, the Domus Romana provides poignant insight into the daily lives of the Roman occupiers in the first quarter of the first century BC. See first grand the well-preserved mosaics thought to be among the oldest examples from the western Mediterranean.

Lascaris War Rooms, Lascaris Ditch, Valletta (Currently closed)

A mere five minutes walk from the very heart of Valletta, this unique attraction is one of just four remaining World War II Military Operations Rooms still open for pubic viewing - another in Gibraltar is still being used and subject to top secrecy.

Limestone Heritage, Mons. Mikiel Azzopardi Street, Siggiewi

The Limestone Heritage is a living exhibition which can be found in the outskirts of the village of Siggiewi, Malta, one of the main quarrying districts in Malta. The owner is a quarryman by trade, and his family has been running and operating quarries for a number of generations. Malta Aviation Museum, Ta` Qali Malta Aviation Museum is located on the ex RAF Ta` Qali Airfield. Exhibits are housed in two 200Ft long Romney Huts and a larger hangar dedicated to the Air Battle of Malta.

Malta At War Museum, Birgu

The Malta at War Museum, in Birgu, is undoubtedly Malta`s best presented testimonial of the great ordeal suffered by the Island during World War II. The site focuses on the daily life of wartime Malta telling the story of how this tiny island managed to withstand one of the fiercest onslaughts in modern history.

Malta Classic Car Museum, Qawra

This museum houses a large collection of various vehicles (both 4 and 3 wheeled varieties) which is being continually enlarged and enhanced through continuous acquisitions. A must-see for any car enthusiast visiting a country where cars are sometimes known to spend 50+ years on the road!

Manoel Theatre and Museum - Valletta

The Manoel Theatre, although small, is Malta`s premier theatre and has a very busy schedule hosting musical and dramatic events throughout the year. The Manoel Theatre Museum is a tribute to three centuries of theatrical history on the Maltese Islands, displaying various items of memorabilia.

Maritime Museum, Birgu

The Maritime Museum of Malta at St. Lawrence Wharf was inaugurated and opened to the public in 1992. Housed in the former Naval Bakery at Vittoriosa (Birgu), the building was designed by the British architect and engineer William Scamp and was erected, between 1842 and 1845, over the site of the old covered slipways of the Knights of St.John.

Mgarr Second World War Shelter, Mgarr, Malta

Never advertised, this is a hard attraction to find. Situated beneath the Il-Barri restaurant, the Mgarr Shelter is one of the largest underground complexes of its kind in Malta, reaching a depth of up to 12 metres and extending to an overall length of over 225 metres through rough-hewn rock. Once there, you`re shown a video of some old BBC footage, setting the mood. The site speaks volumes, with its little rooms carved out by miners for a shilling a day.

National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta

The Auberge de Provence in Republic Street is the present home of this important museum. The National Museum of Archaeology highlights an exceptional array of artefacts from Malta`s unique prehistoric periods. Huge blocks of stone, sacrificial altars, statues and large earthenware vases fill most of the available space. Smaller objects are displayed in glass show-cases. These are classified in chronological order starting with the Ghar Dalam Phase (3200 BC)and proceeding to the Copper Age and Temple period (3200 - 2000BC) and the Bronze Age (2000 - 800 BC).

National Museum of Fine Arts, South Street, Valletta

The National Museum of Fine Arts houses a large and varied collection of fine arts, ranges from the early Renaissance to modern times. The collection of works from the 19th century is particularly interesting as it reflects the historical changes in the governance of the Maltese Islands to a British colony, and includes a painting of the Grand Harbour by J.M.W. Turner.

National Museum of Natural History, Mdina

Housing many historically important collections, the National Museum of Natural History is the national cache of many and varied biological specimens of all types imaginable. The collection represents both life and earth sciences with the reference collection holding rocks and minerals, birds, birds` eggs and nests, mammals, diverse fish species, as well as thousands of local and exotic shells and insects. The fossil collection contains a number of large fish and other marine fauna found embedded in limestone rocks.

National War Museum, Fort St. Elmo, Valletta

The National War Museum can be found at the Lower Fort in the Fort St Elmo complex. It houses artifacts from both World Wars, including one of the famed Gladiator fighters which defended Malta during World War II. The entrance is by the east end of the French Curtain. The museum houses a small and poignant collection with exhibits from 1798 to 1945. The pièce de résistance is the George Cross, awarded to the whole population on April 15, 1942.

Palace Armoury, Merchants Street, Valletta

The Palace Armoury is one of the world`s greatest arms collections housed in their original buildings, and ranks among the most valuable historic monuments of European culture. Although only a fraction of its original splendour, the Armoury still contains abundant material of Italian, German, French and Spanish origin from principal arms production centres dating back to before, during and after the Great Siege.

St John`s Co-Cathedral Museum, St. John`s Street, Valletta

On display are treasures of the Knights, including vestments, portraits of Grand Masters (look out for Antoine de Favray`s rendition of the decadent Pinto), tapestries and the monstrance built to hold the reliquary of the right hand of St. John the Baptist. The Cathedral Museum contains a number of notable items, including 14 Flemish tapestries after cartoons by Peter Paul Rubens and Poussin.

Toy Museum, Republic Street, Valletta

The Toy Museum in Valletta houses an impressive private collection of model cars, planes and boats from the 1950s, as well as dolls, farmyard animals and train sets. Set on three floors it houses Maltese as well as toys from all over the world from the 1950s onward.

Wignacourt Museum, Rabat

The Wignacourt Museum is housed in a baroque palace just outside Mdina and Rabat, not far from where St. Paul`s Grotto is located, together with the crypt and the Parish church both dedicated to St. Paul. This site presents a wealth of historical material comprising archaeological artifacts, old maps and books, sculpture, coins, furniture, delicately embroidered vestments, drawings as well as a baroque chapel, an underground air raid shelter and catacombs all under one roof.

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