Gerona, Spain - The north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia will restore the birth house of surrealist master Salvador Dali (1904-89) and turn it into a museum, media reports Wednesday quoted officials as saying.

The town council of Figueres has purchased the house where the Dali family lived between 1900 and 1912, and where the artist and his sister Anna Maria were born.

The new museum is estimated to cost about 2.9 million euros (3.9 million dollars).

It will include the original mezzanine, an exhibition on Figueres in the early 20th century, and temporary art exhibitions.

Figueres also houses the Dali Theatre-Museum, which has the world's largest single collection of Dali's works, and where the artist is buried. (dpa)