NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

At the entrance to the old town, to the right of the main gate, the museum is housed in the Palacio de Vilhena, a large Baroque building of local limestone, with a sculpted pedimented entrance. The museum was inaugurated in June 1973. It is divided into different sections, highlighting local ecosystems such as the small islands exhibition, Maltese geology and paleontology (fossils), mammals, the marine section, skeletons, reptiles, human evolution, molluscs and birds. The museum houses over 1,000,000 specimens, from microscopic animals to whale bones. It is also a research center for local and foreign students of natural history.
The Palazzo Vilhena, before the earthquake of 1693, was the seat of the Università, the local government. Rebuilt in a superb Baroque style, it became the summer residence of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena. This is the only building in Mdina built by the Knights of Malta. During the British period, it served as a military hospital. From 1909 to 1956, it served as a hospital for tuberculosis patients. It has been completely renovated and, if natural history isn't your favorite theme, you can always visit the building itself. The Corte Capitanale and adjacent rooms are no longer part of the museum, having been handed over to the local council of Mdina.