Many people would have heard of the Malta Maritime Museum, a Heritage Malta-run establishment that brings together over 20,000 artefacts related to Malta’s maritime history. But did you know that there’s another museum dedicated to all things seaworthy in Gozo?
Located on Parish Street in Nadur, the Kelinu Grima Maritime Museum holds an extraordinary private collection of maritime objects that span 300 years and multiple continents.
Put together over 65 years by Kelinu Grima, the collection is impressive by anyone’s standards. Among the treasures found within it are pieces of timber from the first US warship to hit the seven seas, the Constitution; Lord Mountbatten’s gold epaulets, which he wore when he was serving in the Mediterranean; and even pieces of timber from Lord Nelson’s legendary HMS Victory, which was at the Battle of Trafalgar, and is today considered the oldest naval vessel to still be in commission.
Adding to this are over 300 ship crests, hundreds of photographs, models, uniforms, and other maritime objects that tell stories of adventure, conquest, war, empire, and private lives of commanders and sailors, among others.
Being a private collection, however, means that the opening hours are rather limited. In fact, the museum is only open Thursdays and Saturdays between 9am and 4pm. To avoid disappointment, we recommend calling them prior to visiting on +356 2156 5226.
