Museo Naturalistico e Archeologico, Vicenza

Museum in Vicenza

Museo Naturalistico Archeologico, Vicenza — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Roby 48

The Naturalistic Archaeological Museum of Santa Corona in Vicenza , inaugurated in 1991 , is located in the convent and cloisters of the former Dominican convent adjacent to the church of Santa Corona , in the historic center.

For the naturalistic part it is located on the first floor and houses numerous fossils, fish and stuffed animals of the territory of the Province of Vicenza , as well as plants and reproductions of the geological, fluvial and territorial environment of the province.

The historical-archaeological part includes remains of Paleolithic and Neolithic settlements . A sector on the ground floor is dedicated to the Paleoveneti: in particular, the Stele of Isola Vicentina is exhibited , with one of the rare inscriptions in Venetian, votive copper plates with processions of men and women and other metal votive offerings from a Paleoveneti sanctuary , found in the 1960s during the excavations in Piazzetta S. Giacomo in Vicenza.

Along the portico of the internal courtyard is the vast collection of tombstones, memorial stones, milestones, stone sarcophagi and monuments of the Roman Vicetia, coming in particular from the cemetery area that extended near the Basilica of Saints Felice and Fortunato , in whose courtyard they retain other tombs and a small Antiquarium has been set up. In fact, the Basilica stands along the Via Postumia at the gates of the city. Inside, a room is dedicated to the marble decorations and statues of Augustus and the Julio-Claudian dynasty that adorned the Roman theater called Berga, of which only the foundations remain, covered by other buildings. On the ground floor there are remains of amphorae, photos of the cryptoporticus found in the city center near the current Cathedral of Vicenza and some remains of mosaics, including the large late-antique geometric mosaic from a villa, with five tondi depicting scenes of mythological hunting, with Meleager and the Calydonian boar and in the center Bellerophon riding Pegasus kills the Chimera . A stretch of Roman pavement has been relocated to the courtyard. Also near the Church of San Lorenzo there is a similar piece of Roman road, perfectly preserved. Other remains of marble and stone used asmilestone in Roman times are exhibited in the courtyard of the nearby Ca d’Oro, in Corso Palladio.

Among the private collections donated to the Museum stands out that of Roman sculptures by the Vicentine nobleman and archaeologist Girolamo Egidio di Velo (1792-1831), coming from the excavations he carried out in the 19th century in Rome. There was an exchange of works agreed with the Vatican Museums in exchange for the large mosaic with athletes from the Baths of Caracalla that he found. There is a remnant of a colossal column in porphyry , remains of statues of river divinities, a resting satyr torso , copy from Praxiteles , athletes, a nymph on a rock from the Hellenistic age, divinity, as well as two valuable portraits, one of which is attributable to the Antonine period, perhaps Faustina major .

Finally, there are the rooms with the funerary objects (golden crosses, bone combs, buckles, swords, weapons and accessories) of the Lombards .

The municipal museum system also includes the nearby civic art gallery of Palazzo Chiericati and the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the Resistance in Monte Berico as well as the adjacent Church of Santa Corona .

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Visiting Museo Naturalistico e Archeologico, Vicenza

Hours:

All Week: 09.00 – 19.00

Price:

Single cumulative full ticket (Visit to the Naturalistic Archaeological Museum, Olympic Theater, Gallerie d’Italia, Diocesan Museum and Palladiummuseum): 10 €

Address: Museo Naturalistico e Archeologico di Santa Corona, Contrà Santa Corona, Vicenza, Province of Vicenza, Italy

Duration: 20 minutes

Official Website