On 23rd November 2023, the Notarial Registers Archive Museum, designed by FPM, was inaugurated together with the EU funded project of the rehabilitation of the Notarial Registers Archive (NRA). Our readers will recall that in 2020 Patrimonju Museum Operators Ltd successfully concluded the tender for the services of a Museum Development Consultant at the NRA, Valletta which had commenced in 2018. This tender focused primarily on the design of a Museum for the NRA, together with a long term plan for the running of this museum. In addition, a marketing plan, the creation of a logo and branding for the various entities within the Notarial Archives, photography of the ongoing transformation of the buildings housing the Archives, the production of a book and the design of souvenirs for the new Museum were finalised.

During 2023, FPM was invited to complete the design of the Museum and to execute it according to the plans that Patrimonju had originally prepared. This was successfully concluded by Patrimonju in November 2023. The resulting Museum consists of a number of rooms, with the first introducing the history of Malta through the lens of the Notarial Archives with several exceptional documents on display testifying to key periods in Malta’s long history. An examination of the contents of the collection follows, with a spotlight on the artistic and linguistic treasures to be found therein. The physical properties of the collection together with the lucky finds on recycled parchment are examined in detail and finally the experience of a notary’s office, recreated from historic sources, brings the profession to life, with interactive elements that allow the visitor the thrill of discovering documents secreted away in a cabinet. During 2023 the book that FPM had produced for the NRA was updated and reissued.

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