Auberge d'Italie - National Community Art Museum, Valletta

Auberge d'Italie - National Community Art Museum, Valletta

The Auberge d'Italie is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built at various stages in the late 16th century to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Italy, and it originally had a Mannerist design by Girolamo Cassar and several other architects. The building continued to be modified throughout the course of the 17th century, with the last major renovation being carried out in the 1680s during the magistracy of Gregorio Carafa, giving the building a Baroque character.

After the Order was expelled from Malta in 1798, the auberge was used for a number of purposes, housing a military headquarters, an officers' mess, a museum, a school of arts, a courthouse, the General Post Office and various government departments. Until recently, it housed the Malta Tourism Authority, and there are undergoing works of restoration. It is now converted to host the national collection (previously at National Museum of Fine Arts). In 2018 it became the new National Community Art Museum, MUZA (from the Maltese acronym Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti).

MUZA is an art museum located at Auberge d'Italie. It was formerly located at Admiralty House between 1974 and 2016, when it was known as the National Museum of Fine Arts. It houses a collection of works by Maltese and foreign artists mainly representing the major European artistic styles.

The permanent display included the largest collection of paintings by the Southern Italian Baroque artist Mattia Preti (1613–1699), an Italian Knight of the Order of Malta who also contributed to the transformation of the interior of St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta. This, together with a fine and rare collection of antique maps, represented one of the strengths of the collection.

The collection also included the works of two outstanding Maltese sculptors, Melchiorre Gafà (1636–1667) and Antonio Sciortino (1879–1947), and a noteworthy group of Maltese landscapes.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.

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Auberge d'Italie - National Community Art Museum on Map

Sight Name: Auberge d'Italie - National Community Art Museum
Sight Location: Valletta, Malta (See walking tours in Valletta)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Valletta, Malta

Create Your Own Walk in Valletta

Create Your Own Walk in Valletta

Creating your own self-guided walk in Valletta is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Valletta Introduction Walking Tour

Valletta Introduction Walking Tour

Malta's capital city, Valletta, occupies the strategic peninsula between the Marsamxett and Grand Harbours. It is Europe's smallest capital city.

Valletta was founded in the 16th century. Many of the original buildings were built by the Knights Hospitaller. The city was named for Jean Parisot de Valette, famous for defending the island from the Ottomans during the Great Seige of Malta...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.8 Km or 1.7 Miles
Valletta Architectural Landmarks Tour

Valletta Architectural Landmarks Tour

Following the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, the knights of the Order of St John set about creating a city ‘built by gentlemen, for gentlemen’. The end result saw the island's capital become home to an array of elaborate Baroque buildings, some reflecting Mannerist features borrowed from neighboring Italy.

Many of these architectural monuments have proudly withstood the test of time...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.0 Km or 1.2 Miles