Gozo Nature Museum

Natural science made easy - see everything under one roof

The Gozo Nature museum is located in the heart of the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo. The museum is located in three different units that seem to have been built during the 17th century.

In the ground floor of Nature Museum you can find an entrance hall that is dedicated to the geology of Gozo. It presents the successive sedimentary layers that make up the Maltese Islands with a few examples of animal and plant remains trapped in the rocks. You can also see a fossil collection, containing exhibits from historian Gian Francesco Agius De Soldanis (1712-1770), and a mineral collection of stalactites and stalagmites. In the Marine section you can find an interesting exhibition of dried local fish, seashells, shellfish and crustaceans highlighting the individual ecosystems present in Maltese waters. 

In a small room at the back of the entrance hall, you can find an abridged explanation of the human evolution process which can be compared to the equally interesting developments of the Equus (the horse family).  In another room you will be able to view a magnified spec of moonstone that was donated to the Maltese nation by US President Richard Nixon. 

In the next room you can see several minerals from different parts of the World, which was mostly donated by Dr. Lewis F. Mizzi (1847-1935), a Gozitan traveller and scholar. On the first floor then, you can find a room dedicated to the ecosystems of the Maltese Islands, including a model of the Dwejra area and the related flora, in particular the Maltese National Plant (Maltese Rock Centaury) and the famous fungus of Fungus rock: Cynommorium coccineum. 

In the next room you can find a collection of migratory birds, insect collections and a panel explaining the metamorphosis of a butterfly. If you’re interested in nature and how it evolved in the Maltese Islands, than this museum is a must see. So head up to the Cittadella and enjoy the highlights of what Gozo Nature Museum has to offer.