In Gozo one can find Museums on several topics.
Cathedral
The Cathedral has the most number of Museums in Gozo. There are the
Museum of Archeology, Museum of Folklore, Natural Science Museum, and Old
Prisons.
In the Old Prisons, one can see
the
walls of the cells and corridors in the old prison covered
with graffiti. It is considered as the largest collection of historical graffiti
in one single place on the Maltese Islands. The representations are often of
ships, and date from different periods. There are also handprints, crosses,
names, dates, games, and anthropomorphic figures etched into the limestone
walls. Some inmates also appear to have scratched a tally of their length of
stay behind bars. The graffiti are a fascinating, human insight into the lives
of those incarcerated here.
Museum of Archeology
The
Museum illustrates
the cultural history of the Island of Gozo from the prehistoric
era to the early modern period. The exhibits come from various archaeological
sites and are presented
in a way that give the visitor a chronological view of the time span covered.
The upper floor
houses exhibits from the historical Phoenician, Roman, Medieval and Knights'
periods. The collection includes jewellery, coins, marble statues, oil lamps and
funerary objects.
The ground
floor covers the Neolithic Period, the Temple Period and the Bronze Age
Museum
of Folklore
The
late medieval houses in Milite Bernardo Street now housing the Folklore Museum
were probably built towards the end of the 15th or the beginning of the 16
century. The house in the middle is the oldest while the southern one seems to
have been the last to be built.
The Museum houses a wide range of exhibits related to the domestic and rural
traditional way of life of the Gozitans in years gone by.
Natural
Science Museum
In
the museum one finds various collections pertaining to a variety of subjects.
One of the most important collections is the Fossils collection in the Geology
Section. Some of the exhibits in this section come from the collection of the
18th century Gozitan scholar Can. Aguis De Soldanis. Other subject areas in the
museum are Minerology, Marine Life, Botany, Ornithology and Insects.
Għarb Folklore Museum
This museum
is a uniqu
e
early 18th century historical
house with 28 rooms.
A
tour of these rooms gives the visitor a glimpse of times gone by with
exhibits such
as the
miller's room, an
antique
press room, a
carpenter's workshop
and a myriad
of other memories
from
Gozo's
past.
Gozo Heritage
This Museum situated
inside a fascinating old building
between Xewkija and
Għajnsielem,
the Gozo Heritage is a museum that offers a mixture of spectacular historical
experience of Gozo give the visitor a ringside view of the chequered historical
saga of Gozo. The museum introduces the visitor, in leisurely fashion, to 7,000
years of Gozitan history. Life-size sculptures set in period environments
Kelinu Grima Maritime Museum
The
Kelinu Galea
Maritime Museum has a myriad of exhibits, among which one can find rare and
priceless articles such as authenticated pieces of timber from Lord Nelson's
ship "HMS Victory", the "Constitution", which was the first US warship, as well
as one of Lord Mountbatten's gold epaulettes which he wore during the period of
duty in the Mediterranean.
This Museum is in Nadur.
Pomskizillious -
Museum of Toys
The earliest objects
on display are a late 18th century Maltese Doll with carved wooden head and some
Italian Presepio and figurines dating from 1790's.
Among other
attractions there is a 1930's Noah's Ark, a "Hornby" Train S
et
and Edwin's "Dinky" vehicles, a pressed paper "Hunting Scene" & "Zoo",
and a set of
soldiers made in the 1970's but dressed in the uniform of the Swedish Army in
1700's. A scarce set of unmarked Lead Cricketers and other lead toys including
Zoo & Farm Animals, Cowboys & Indians, Aeroplanes, Ships & Soldiers and an
Ambulance Set about 1890's are also on display.
One can also
see some optical toys, 1790's dolls, soft toys made by Steiff, Lenci and Kathe
Kruse, and a few clockwork tin toys from the 1920/30's
Ta' Kola
Windmill
Ta'
Kola windmill, is situated just off Ġgantija temples in Xagħra and houses a
folklore museum. It was built in 1725.
The miller used to be a skilled craftsman who was very often trained in a wide
range of skills. Thus, apart from maintaining and operating the windmill, he
used to perform many other secondary jobs.
