The Museum was created to collect, preserve and exhibit archaeological finds from in and around Ascoli Piceno, the Tesino Valley, the Tronto Valley and the northern part of the Province of Teramo, which was under Ascoli’s influence in the XIX century.

History

The Museum was founded in 1981 to house the Civic Archaeological Collection. Over the years, the collection has grown in size and importance thanks to the finds from excavations carried out by the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of the Marche Region.

The site of the Museum

The Museum is housed in the XVI-century Palazzo Panichi, in Piazza Arringo. The main room of the Museum features the original frescoes once on the building’s façade.

Exhibition

The Museum is divided in two sections: Protohistory, from the Piceni to Romanization; Roman Section and Lapidarium, which houses, among other things, finds from the latest excavations. Scientific reconstructions (e.g. of ancient clothing) help visitors understand each piece on display thus making their visit easier and more enjoyable. Among the finds dating back to the Piceni Age, those from the Salino and Monteprandone necropolis deserve particular attention. Roman findings include the Portrait of Traianus and a mosaic with two-faced herm, which was detached from a wall nearby the present site of the Court of Ascoli Piceno.