Heritage Malta has inaugurated the recently refurbished Minerals Hall at the National Museum of Natural History in Mdina. The Dr Louis Mizzi Hall was inaugurated by Dr George Zammit Maempel in the presence of Heritage Malta’s chairman Dr Mario Tabone and Minister for Tourism and Culture Dr Francis Zammit Dimech.

Dr Louis Mizzi (1847 – 1935) was a prominent lawyer based in Constantinople who took a keen interest in scientific research. During his frequent travels he managed to amass an impressively large collection of minerals and crystals numbering over 12,000 specimens. He later decided to donate this collection to the State on condition that he would also be its curator, a post he held till his death in 1935.

Dr Zammit Maempel, who has worked for the Museums Department in the past, conducted extensive research on Dr Mizzi’s collection. During his speech, he paid tribute to Dr Mizzi who was reputed to have been fluent in 10 languages.

The newly refurbished hall has over 1,000 pieces of minerals and rocks on display and is a small part of the museum’s vast national collection. The display is presented according to the different mineral groups and includes both raw material and worked pieces of art and jewellery.

New lighting and parquet flooring give the hall a more modern look and the showcases have been spaced out across the available surface area to allow visitors to carefully inspect the artefacts on display. A painting and bust of Dr Mizzi complement the hall.

This refurbishment forms part of an extensive programme of works at the National Museum of Natural History in Mdina. Later this year, Heritage Malta will be inaugurating a new hall focusing on the ecological importance of the Maltese islands.