The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Aquileia is an essential stop for discovering the history of Aquileia, one of the most important centers of the Roman Empire and today part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aquileia. For approximately seven centuries, the city was a major Mediterranean port and a crossroads of people, goods, cultures, and religions from across the ancient world.
The exhibition route highlights one of the richest archaeological collections in Italy and guides visitors through the ancient Roman metropolis, its daily life, and the productive and commercial activities that contributed to its prosperity. Inscriptions, funerary steles, portraits, statues, and artifacts reveal the cosmopolitan, multi-religious, and multilingual character of Aquileia, a meeting point between the Mediterranean and continental Europe.
Accessible Storage Collections
The museum's storage collections offer the opportunity to explore a significant part of the city's archaeological heritage that is not normally displayed along the main exhibition route. The new spaces, spread across six interconnected rooms covering more than 500 square meters, house over 5,000 artifacts, including inscriptions, votive altars, funerary monuments, sculptures, reliefs, and objects made of glass, metal, and ceramics.
Thanks to a modern display system featuring showcases, drawers, and dedicated shelving, visitors can closely observe materials that testify to the extraordinary historical and cultural richness of ancient Aquileia.
Educational Room and Stone Bestiary
The museum also features an educational room that complements the visitor experience with the display of a fascinating stone bestiary, composed of real animals and mythical creatures. Designed according to principles of accessibility and inclusion, this space offers an engaging experience for visitors of all ages.
Activities for Families
The museum's Educational Service regularly organizes activities for families to make the visit even more engaging. Among these is "The Museum at Play", an activity book designed to accompany children and young people in discovering the collections through games, observation exercises, and activities throughout the exhibition route.
Available free of charge upon request at the ticket office, the kit includes the printed activity book, a child-friendly illustrated museum map, and a backpack containing the tools needed for exploration, including pencils, colored pencils, and a magnifying glass. At the end of the visit, families may keep the activity book and map as a souvenir of their experience.
The activity can be completed independently during the visit, and a dedicated workstation is also available inside the museum. "The Museum at Play" and the illustrated map are available in Italian, English, German, Slovenian, and Friulian.
