Description of the attraction
A short walk from the Main Gate of Valletta is the ancient building of the Auberge of Provence - a kind of residence in which the Knights-Hospitallers, who arrived from France, lived. This was governed by Auberge Gran Commander, who also served as treasurer of the Knights of Malta. The local architect Girolamo Cassar worked on this building in 1571-1575. In the 17th century, the façade was completely rebuilt. It is currently adorned with Doric and Ionic columns. The lobby of the building has remained almost unchanged. You can enter it even if you do not plan to visit the Archaeological Museum, which has occupied the rooms of Aubert Provence since 1990.
For more than a hundred years, from 1820 to 1954, the British Officers' Club worked in this palace. Today the mansion has been completely redesigned for the needs of the Archaeological Museum. Until recently, the building also housed an art gallery.
The National Archaeological Museum of Malta is small, but its exposition would be the envy of many famous museums in the world. It houses many artifacts from the prehistoric era, found during excavations of the megalithic temples for which Malta is famous. The most valuable exhibits are considered to be a small statuette of the Sleeping Lady and an equally miniature Venus of Malta. The partially preserved statue of the Fat Lady found in the Tarshin megalith is also interesting. Unfortunately, the upper part of this sculpture, supposedly 3 meters high, has been lost. Now we can only see the legs of a lady in wide trousers, covered with a fluffy skirt. A copy of this statue can be found in the megalithic temple of Tarshin, which is open to the public.
The Archaeological Museum also contains the remains of Roman columns, ancient oil lamps found in the catacombs, glassware created by Roman craftsmen. On one of the marble pillars, you can see a prayer recited in Greek and Phoenician. Thanks to this find, the Phoenician language was deciphered.
