Folklore Museum

The  Folklore  Museum in Gozo  features reconstructions of local crafts, trade and customs

The Folklore Museum is one of the most attractive Museums in Gozo and is tucked away in one of the narrow and windings roads within the walls of the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo. The Folklore Museum exhibits an extensive range of pieces that show the domestic, rural and traditional ways of life people used to lead in Malta and Gozo in the past centuries.

The Folklore museum in Gozo is located in a medieval Siculo-Norman building that dates back to the beginning of the 16th century which is as interesting as the museum itself. The Folklore Museum is in fact accommodated in a cluster of interconnected medieval houses that used to belong to rich families and are actually the only ones still left in Gozo. These buildings are medieval architectural gems and the only other examples in Malta can be found in Mdina and Birgu (Vittoriosa).

The Folklore Museum opened in 1983 and its wide ranging collection is spread over two floors. On the ground floor, visitors can view items related to rural trades and skills such as sickles, spades, winnowing forks, shovels and ploughs, as well as a selection of grinding mills. On display there are also domestic Gozitan craft, such as the popular and beautiful lace.

The first floor used to be the living area, and today it hosts an exhibition related to hobbies such as hunting and modelling of churches full of religious accessories. These miniature church models require both skill and patience to make and are still a popular hobby in Malta and Gozo. The exhibition also hosts several furniture pieces, a beautiful collection of traditional costumes, a very interesting ex-voto collection as well as items from traditional fishing.

Other items that can be found in the museum include a stone oven, a cotton gin, vegetable grading machine and many more interesting and educational objects.

*Joint admission fees to Citadella Sites include The Folklore Museum, the Gozo Archaeology Museum, the Old Prison, and the Natural Science Museum.