Malta at War Museum and other Vittoriosa, Malta Things to Do Tips

At the Malta at War Museum you can explore 1 km of labyrinth-like tunnels and chambers excavated deep into the rock in which the islanders have taken refuge during the dark days of the blitz which took place between 1940 and 1943. The building accomodates a museum which is a British 19th Century military barracks built into the town walls. When the first Italian bombs where dropped on Malta on June 11th, 1940, these islands where found wanting in the way of protection for the civilian population. As a result the government embraked on a national plan for the construction of air raid shelters for the entire population. However there was a shortage of skilled labour and tools therefore old people, women and children would have to cut the rock also by hand.

At the Malta at War museum you can also listen to the sounds and voices of the war. You will also witness how brave people of Malta were as they withstood the incessant aerial onslaught mounted against them. My dad who was about 3 years old at the time of the war still remembers today the trauma of the war. He remembers that when the island would be underattack everyone would panic and and would climb down through this narrow entrance into the shelters that would have been built beforehand. Since he was still a little boy the things obviously impressed. He still remembers the loud noise of the serene in his ears and also the lack of food that there was in Malta at that time.

The guided tours are daily at 11.30 and 14.30hrs. You will be give free handouts in Engslih, German, French or Italian and self guiding facilities with an illustration guidebook. One may make use of the gift shop afterwards.

Opening Hours :- Mon - Sat 10.00 - 16.00hrs

except of major festivities that is Christmas and Easter. Uk bank holidays do not apply in Malta.

Entrance Fees

Adults: Lm1.50
Pensioners & students: Lm1.00
Children under 16 years: 50 cents
Family Gourp (parents and their children under 16 years) : Lm 3.00

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Phone: /fax 356 21809713 /356 21800992
Address: Couvre Porte, Vittoriosa CSP
Directions: By Bus:- Nos. 1,4 and 6 from Valletta main station to Vittoriosa (Birgu) terminus. Then 5 minutes walk across to Couvre Porte the old gate entrance into the city of Vittoriosa (Birgu).
Website: www.wirtartna.org
Other Contact: fwa@waldonet.net.mt

The Inquisitor's Palace, sited in the heart of Vittoriosa, is one of the very few surviving palaces of its kind which in the early modern period could be found all over Europe. Many simple succumbed to the ravages of time or were victims of the French Revolution. Fortunately, the Maltese Inquisitor's Palace, throughout its five centuries of history, always hosted officials representing the main powers on the island, who therefore ensured its survival. The palace also managed to survive through the bombings of the Second World War. Today, it is an architectural gem, representative of the chequered history and European heritage of the Maltese Islands.

Here one can see the Torture instruments and chambers from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century ! Some of the pieces exhibited are exteremely rare dating to the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The collection, which includes devices used for torture, capital execution and public humiliation, is complete with illustrations and accessible captions in several languages.

The exhibition will be of the duration of one year starting from July 2004 until July 2005.

Opening Hours :- Monday to Sunday
09.00 - 17.00hrs

Last Admission - 16.30 hours

Closed - 24,25 and 31 December
1st January, Good Friday

Public Transport Bus Nos: 1,2,4, or 6.

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Phone: 35621827006, 35621663731
Address: Main Gate Street, Vittoriosa
Directions: In the South of Malta (a bit complicated to explain here but if you ask the Tourist Information Centre or some bus driver they will tell you)
Website: www.heritagemalta.org
Other Contact: email : info@heritagemalta.org

Here you will see a large and varied collection of paintings, photogrpahs, models, uniforms, weapons, instruments and other artefacts that attest to the history of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean during the nineteenth and twentieth century and its impact on the economy and social life of the Maltese Islands.

Openings Hours:

Winter: Mon-Sat - 8.15 - 17.00
Sunday - 8.15 - 16.15

Summer: Mon - Sun - 7.45 - 14.00

Closed on Public Holidays

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Phone: 356 21 660052,805287, 803889
Address: Vittoriosa
Directions: The naval Bakery, Vittoriosa

Email - antonio.espinosa-rodriguez@magnet.mt
Website: Fax 356 21 809090

At Easter time all the Churches in Malta and Gozo are decorated with white flowers however there is custom that a part of the Church at times even a side altar is decorated more than the rest so that people can go and visit to pray in front of the altar. On the day before Maundy Thursday and on the the day people go around to visit 7 churches to say prayers - this is a custom around the Maltese islands however it is optional and not a must but many people keep up with this tradition.

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Address: Bormla

This is another example of a side altar but this time this is of the church in Vittoriosa. As You can see the side altar is decorated with flowers, plants, lights and statutes.

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Address: Birgu

The Apostles table is another custom that we have. Infact one can visit many exhibtions like these all over the Maltese Islands not only in Vittoriosa or Bormla. Locals prepare a table and lay a table with plates either filled with coloured rice and shape them in a way to show pictures to do with the whole story of the passion of Christ or then they lay it out with food that the Apostles would have ate. There are many different types of exhibitions. Locals put alot of their time every year to prepare for these exhibitions and everyone tries his best to be orginal using different types of mediums.

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Address: Birgu

At Easter time around the Maltese islands one can visit various exhibitions. This one was really impressive as I had never seen anything like this before. In a very small room a local from Birgu created the various stations of the Cross however they were not normal as we usually see them because they were really tiny. All the things in the rooms were miniature size ! Since it was an exhibtion he did not let me take photos of the indivual passions of the cross but just this one photo of all of them put together so its hard to convey what I saw however I thought that they were made really good with every detail showing. I think he must have put alot of work to make them so real. I think they were so cute !

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Address: Birgu