Valletta, Malta: National Archeological Museum - Slightly Disappointing, But Worth A Visit

National Museum of Archeology

Auberge de Provence, Republic Street

Valletta, Malta VLT 1112

Phone: +356 21 221 623

Website:

Prices: €€€€

The National Museum of Archeology in Valletta is one of two important museums of this kind in Malta, the other being inside the Cittadella, in Victoria, on the island of Gozo. Situated on the main street of the Capital of Valletta, Republic Street, it is housed in what used to be the Auberge de Provence, a fine Baroque building dating back to 1571 where the Knights of the Order of St. John, those originating from Provence, used to live.

The entrance houses the ticket office and a (very small) gift shop, but offers a beautiful view of the decorated ceiling with beautiful, hundreds of years old, frescoes. The museum consists of two floors and is overall rather small. 

On the ground floor (first floor for you Yanks), one can see artifacts dating back to Malta’s Neolithic period (5,000 BC), including tools and representations of human and animal figures. The highlights on this floor are the original stones with reliefs from the temples of Hagar Qim and Tarxien, as well as the famous “Sleeping Lady” (from the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum) and the “Venus of Malta” (from the Hagar Qim Temple).

The exhibition is enriched by several informative boards and pictures throughout this floor (and the museum), showing the discovery and the excavations of the temples at the beginning of the twentieth-century.

The second floor (or third floor for you Yanks) houses the impressive Grand Salon, with painted ceilings walls and wooden beamed ceilings, but you can only get a glimpse of it from the doorway, directly in front of you as you reach the second floor landing, due to renovation work going on.

The rest of the second floor contains two halls: the Bronze Age Hall and the Phoenician Period Hall. The Bronze Age Hall shows several artifacts, such as pottery, weaving tools, and jewelry. You can also see a reproduction of the cart ruts surrounding the temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra in Qrenda as well as many other places on the island.

The Phoenician (or Punic) Hall also contains some interesting objects, including decorated pottery, a shawl in Tyre purple (a dye extracted from the murex shellfish for which the Phoenicians were famously secretive of the process), and an anthropomorphic sarcophagus.

We were extremely disappointed, however, in finding out that one of the Cippi of Melqart was missing from the Punic collection because it was on-loan to another museum during our visit. The two Cippi were unearthed in Malta in the 17th Century and date back to the 2nd Century BC. They are two extremely important artifacts because they contain votive offerings to the god Melgart inscribed in both Ancient Greek and Phoenician, providing a key to deciphering the Phoenician language in 1764. In that way, they are considered the Rosetta Stone of the Phoenician language. One is on display at the Louvre and the second one was supposed to be in this museum, but its absence was not advertised on their website. We happened to ask a staff member who did not even know to which museum the artifact had been loaned.

Cippi of Melqart

Apart from the burning disappointment of not being able to see the famous Cippi of Melquart, the museum was overall an interesting stop and certainly offered several other objects that were worth seeing. Works are currently in progress in the Punic Hall, so we hope to come back one day and see more about these fascinating and mysterious ancient people, as well as the renovated Grand Salon.

At just €8.50 for two, the entrance is very reasonable, even though the museum is rather small with relatively few artifacts, considering the vast history of the Island of Malta and numerous archeological sites around the islands.

CombatCritic Gives The Malta's National Museum Of Archeology 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

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Hours

January and February

Monday to Sunday: 09.00 - 17.00hrs

Last admission: 16.30hrs

March - December

Monday to Sunday: 09.00 - 18.00hrs

Last admission: 17.30hrs

Closed on 24, 25 & 31 December, 1 January & Good Friday

Tickets

Adults (18 - 59 years): €5.00

Youths (12 - 17 years) and Seniors (60+), Students: €3.50

Children (6 -11 years): €2.50

Infants (1 -5 years): Free

Title: Valletta, Malta: National Archeological Museum - Slightly Disappointing, But Worth A Visit

Key Words: Valletta, Malta, National Archeological Museum, national, archeological, museum, Venus, Venus of Malta, Cippi of Melquart, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, museum, review, TripAdvisor

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Matera, Italy: Top-Notch, Not So LIttle Museum Tells The Archeological History Of Ancient Matera

Museo Archeologico Nazionale Domenico Ridola   
Via Domenico Ridola 24
75100 Matera, Italy
Phone number +39 0835 310058
Website: MuseoArcheologicoMatera
Prices: €€€€

A hidden gem and excellent value in central Matera, it looks more like a bank than museum from the outside and entry is just €2 (teachers get a discount with ID). The museum is very well laid out so you can follow a single path rather than bounce back and fourth across and between rooms as is the case at many larger museums (the Smithsonian in DC and the Met in NYC come to mind).

For the minimal fee, you will find an abundance of archeological relics and remains dating back to the 6th Century B.C. as well as recreations of village life and cave paintings from that time in this 105 year old museum.

A great way to spend an hour or two on a blustery winter day as we did during the worst snowstorm in Matera over the past 60 years, you can leisurely stroll through at your own pace without hectic crowds hovering in front of you. The day we were there, we saw only one or two other couples in the museum the entire time. There is a room of to your right as you descend the stairs toward the exit with a snack and coffee machine which was quite reasonable (caffe latte, espresso, cappuccino, or hot chocolate were just €.40 each).

The staff are very friendly and helpful, but their English is limited and all exhibits as well as their App (with slideshows and verbal descriptions accessed via the web with a QR code reader) are only in Italian. Lack of English descriptions and translations were the only thing keeping me from giving them a perfect score.

CombatCritic Gives Museo Archeologico Nazionale Domenico Ridola 9 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

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Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17

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Read Chris S.'s review of Museo Archeologico Nazionale Domenico Ridola on Yelp

Title: Matera, Italy: Top-Notch, Not So LIttle Museum Tells The Archeological History Of Ancient Matera

Key Words: Museo Archeologico Nazionale Domenico Ridola, Domenico, Ridola, Matera, Basilicata, museum, museo, archeologico, archeological, archeology, Italy, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: OOH-RAH = "U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"