Malta's natural cultural history as never seen before! Visit virtually the National Museum of Natural History and discover Malta's diverse environment and its natural cultural resources. Geology, Ornithology, Evolution, Conchology, Marine Life are all there to be discovered.
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Vilhena Palace facadeNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The palace was designed in Parisian Baroque style, substituting the original building of the medieval University.
Vilhena Palace main porticoNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
This magnificent Baroque Palace is still known as Vilhena Palace. His bronze bust lies over the main door and his coat of arms are sculpted on the main gateway and on the inside of the portico.
Front courtyard of the Vilhena PalaceNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The original building was the seat of the medieval Universita, or local Maltese government.
Painted ceiling (late 19th century)National Museum of Natural History, Malta
It enjoyed a limited degree of autonomy in the internal administration of the island during the late Middle Ages
Law CourtsNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The palace also served as the law courts of the Universitas. It later moved to another building but Vilhena Palace still incorporated within it the Corte Capintanale of the Universitas.
Solitary confinement cellNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The main building still holds a number of small cells that were apparently used for solitary confinement. Two rooms and a tiny cell are of particular interest.
One of the most famous inmates to be locked up in these cells was Mikiel Anton Vassalli, the ‘Father of the Maltese Language’.
The Collection
The collection is made up of several private donations pertaining to different areas of interest which were amassed along the centuries.
Fossilized fishNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The young rock formation of the Maltese islands does not allow us to find very old animal remains.
The islands started forming some 30 million years later the demise of dinosaurs and therefore one can find an array of fossil faunal remains.
Bone structure of a batNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
A vast osteological collection highlighting the intricate bone structures of vertebrates including large original skeletons, delicate bone structures and other skeletons
Skull of a Killer WhaleNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The collection consists of an interesting variety of exhibits highlighting the nautical environment and its species
Maltese ornithologyNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
Throughout the ages birds have inspired man through their calls, colour and most of all, flight.
Although the number of resident species in Malta is low with some eighteen breeding species, the number of visitors is quite impressive, with just over 380 species recorded.
Flying squidNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The collection presents both local as well as exotic species of shelled animals
Model of the island of CominoNational Museum of Natural History, Malta
The Maltese archipelago is made up of a number of islands, rocks and stacks.
Islands are important eco-systems mainly because of them being isolated from the mainland. This leads to unique speciation and island varieties.
John J. Borg, The National Museum of Natural History, Mdina
