Forthcoming events:

(The Friends of the Zabbar Sanctuary Museum frequently organise activities which are primarily of a cultural nature. Profit resulting from these activities are used for the financing of the restoration of artefacts in the Zabbar Sanctuary Museum.)

Recent events:

• New display of stamps.

6 Septembert 2006 - A collection of stamps, postmarks and albums that have a  connection with Zabbar are now displayed in the gallery on the first floor.

• Annual Open Day.

3 September 2006 - The annual OPEN DAY which is held on the Sunday preceding the feast of Our Lady of Graces attracted a large number of intersted persons. Six guided tours were held at hourly intervals and entrance was free.

• Inauguration of a hall for temporary exhibitions.

26 August 2006 - A new temporary exhibitions area in the Museum was inaugurated. The area is actually the interior of the platform that was used for the Coronation of Our Lady of Graces in 1951. Originally the richly sculptured structure belonged to RMS Alcantara, an ocean liner that was launched in 1927.

• Exhibition of paintings by Horatio Italo Serge.

26 August - 10 September 2006 - Exhibition of paintings by Oratio Italo Serge (1906 - 1978) depicting the maritime activities of the Knights.

• Display of 'new' painting.

• Return of 'Christ the Saviour' to the museum after restoration

20 May 2006 - The painting of 'Christ the Saviour' by Tommaso Madiona (1803 - 1864) was returned to the Museum after restoration by Ms. Sabine Azzopardi of Qormi.

• Exhibition of cribs at the Museum  

11 December 2005 - 8 January 2006 - Annual crib exhibition. The participants were presented with a certificate.  Photos of the cribs may be viewed by clicking on photos in the Home Page.

• Inauguration of medals showcase

19 November 2005 -  Medals showcase inaugurated.  The display shows a specimen of each type of medal donated to the Museum and lists all the names of the donors. Details of each medal are also given.  Most of the research was done by  Mr Joseph Theuma, a member of the Museum Committee.

•  Social evening for Museum Committee members and helpers

28 October 2005 - The Committee members, helpers and their guests attended the dinner which is held annually after the feast of OUR Lady of Graces.

• European Heritage Days Campaign - 2005

17 to 23 October 2005 - The Zabbar Sanctuary Museum hosted the European Heritage Days activities organised by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.  The theme for this year was THE LOCAL HERITAGE MUSEUM with 'EX-VOTOS' as the subteam The Cultural Heritage Days were spread over the week ending 23 October 2005 and consisted of three main activities:

  a. Visits by schoolchildren
  b. Exhibition of drawings by schoolchildren
  c.Three talks for the general public: 

19 October. Subject: The painter Giuseppe Caruana  (1899-1964) and Zabbar's Local Heritage by Mr Emmanuel Fiorentino

21 October. Subject: The Role of Archaeology in Contemporary Malta by Mr Clive Vella

23 October. Subject: The Ex-Voto Collection at the Zabbar Sanctuary Museum by Mr Joseph Muscat

• Talk on the 1975 Vulcan Bomber Crash on Zabbar

16 October 2005 - On the 30th aniversary of the Vulcan crash on Zabbar, the Friends of the Zabbar Sanctuary Museum invited aviation expert Mr. Richard J. Caruana to deliver a talk on the subject. After the talk tea was served to the participants while eye witnesses of the accident shared their experience.

• Inauguration of coins showcase

10 September 2005 -  Mr Joseph Theuma, a member of the Museum Committee, completed the coins showcase which shows a selection of coins from the roman to british era. 

• Open Day   

4 September 2005 - The  Open Day included guided tours throughout the day and entrance was free.  Judging by the number of people that attended, the experiment turned out to be a success. The Committee decided to hold the  Open Day twice a year.

• Inauguration of crib figures showcase

3 September 2005- A new showcase exhibiting rare crib figures donated by Mr and Mrs Bonello was inaugurated.

• Museum Committee presented  with trophy

31 August 2005 - The Kunsill Ċiviku Żabbar (Zabbar Civic Council) presented the Agatha Barbara Trophy to the Curator of the Museum during their annual City of Hompesch Day programme. The trophy was awarded in recognition of the voluntary work done by the Museum's Commission and helpers. This Day was celebrated on the 31 August. 

********** Zabbar Sanctuary Museum Commission Meetings **********

Meetings of the Commission are held on the first Tuesday of each month.  The meetings are held at the Museum.

Donations of artefacts:

•  Mr and Mrs John Bonello of Zabbar recently donated four sets of collectible crib figures to the museum on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Gaces 2005. Mr and Mrs Bonello are now retired in Malta after spending  a long number of years in Canada.  The couple also sponsored the showcase.
• Mr Joseph Dalli donated an oil painting depicting the battle of Vienna in 1683.
• Mr Pio Galea donated a viaticum lantern (fanal tal-vjatku) to the Museum on the 23 October 2005. As a young boy, Pio used to carry the same lantern himself during the viaticum procession.

General information:

• The Museum is open daily, including Sundays,  between 9.00 and noon. (Closed on New Year's Day, Christmas and Festa Monday)
• The Museum's souvenir shop offers publications, postcards and souvenirs of the Museum and the Sanctuary.
•  Admission: a donation of 25c (€0.58) is encouraged 
•  The museum  is situated in Mediatrix Square, Zabbar 
•  There is a frequent bus service from Valletta  to Zabbar, and vice-versa. Bus numbers 18,19 and 21 may be used.