The Diu Museum Located near the Diu Fort, the Diu Museum has been set up inside the old Portuguese Baroque church of St. Thomas and is thus known as the St. Thomas Church museum. With an impressive Gothic architecture, the church was built in the year 1598. The church was later converted into a museum, which houses a number of antiques and stone inscriptions of ancient rulers. The museum also exhibits shadow clocks, intricate wooden carvings and statues, many of which were excavated from this region. The most impressive of the lot is the 400 year old marble and wooden statues of St. Thomas and St. Benedict. The stone remnant of a Jain temple, which was originally located at the site, also adorns the museum. The Sea Shell Museum Situated 6 km from the town of Diu on Nagoa Road, is the Sea Shell Museum, which is famed for housing the largest collection of sea shells in Asia. The museum houses the vast personal collection of sea shells of a sailor named Captain Devjibhai Vira Fulbari, who sailed all over the world for over 50 years and collected thousands of sea shells. The shells are labelled in English and the collection also includes reading materials on the history of shells. Visitors are provided with magnifying glasses to have a closer look at the shells and differentiate between cowrie and poisonous cone shells. The collection of sea shells in the museum ranges from 2500 to 3000. Visiting Information on the Museums of Diu The nearest railway station in Diu is located at Veraval. The Diu airport is closest and connects the town to other major cities of the country by air. |