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MArTA - National Archaeological Museum of Taranto

The National Archaeological Museum of Taranto is an important museum center, where, among other things, one of the largest collections of artifacts from the Magna Graecia era is exhibited.

It is owned by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, which since 2014 has counted it among the museum institutes with special autonomy.

Located in Corso Umberto I at number 42, it was founded in 1887 and occupies the site of the former convent of San Pasquale di Baylon, built in the 18th century.

The archaeologist Luigi Viola wanted to make it a Museum of Magna Graecia, but it has always been mainly dedicated to the archaeological documentation of Taranto and the rest of Puglia.

The museum was closed in the early 1960s for expansion and reorganization works.

Upon completion of these works, on 4 April 1963 the museum was inaugurated in the presence of the President of the Republic, Antonio Segni, who then communicated his satisfaction with the extent of the collection of archaeological finds and their evocative arrangement through the Minister of Public education, Luigi Gui.

Closed again to undergo restoration work since January 2000, the year from which a partial exhibition was maintained at Palazzo Pantaleo, reopens to the public again on December 20, 2007 after a series of renovations, expansion and restoration. 

Some of these interventions, in particular of the first 2 levels of the complex, were carried out thanks to the funds of the lotto game, in accordance with the provisions of law 662/96.

The mezzanine floor of the museum is used for temporary exhibitions and conferences. The first floor houses the Greco-Roman section inherent to the Taranto society.

The second floor, inaugurated in the summer of 2016, houses the prehistoric section of the Paleolithic and the Bronze Age inherent to the entire Apulian territory.

Map: MArTA - National Archaeological Museum of Taranto