Heritage Malta is organising open days at MUŻA – The Malta National Community Art Museum, at the Auberge d’Italie, Merchants’ Street, and at the Grand Master’s Palace, St George’s Square, Valletta, today.

Tomorrow it is organising another open day at St Paul’s and St Augustine’s Catacombs in Rabat.

All the sites are open to the public for free from 9am to 5pm (last admission 4.30pm).

MUŻA houses the national collection of artistic works, including masterpieces by Mattia Preti, Victor Pasmore and Antonio Sciortino.

There will be educational art activities for children throughout the day, a guided tour in Maltese at 11am and another in English at 2.30pm.

The Grand Master’s Palace also contains collections of works of art and heritage items. Notable artefacts at the Palace Armoury include suits of armour of Grand Masters Alof de Wignacourt and Jean de Valette, and armour and weapons used by the Ottoman army during the Great Siege of 1565.

There will be guided tours in Maltese at 9am and 1.30pm and in English at 10.30am and 3pm.

St Paul’s and St Augustine’s Catacombs comprise Christian, Jewish and pagan tombs hewn underground over an area of 7,000 square metres. One can learn more about these underground burial sites, artefacts found there and the funerary rites in ancient Punic, Roman and Byzantine times at the St Paul’s Catacombs visitor information centre.

There will be a tour in Maltese at 11.30am and one in English at 1.30pm.

Visitors can also experience a hands-on pottery-washing activity from 9am to 4pm, and children can take part in a treasure hunt all day long or in an activity using clay at 11am and 2.30pm.

For more information, visit www.heritagemalta.org.