National Roman Museum Crypta Balbi

The Crypta Balbi is a complex connected to the ancient Balbo Theater in Rome. Today it is one of the seats of the National Roman Museum.

Crypta Balbi is the only Italian museum that arises from the archaeological research carried out on an entire block between via delle Botteghe Oscure, via Caetani, Via dei Delfini and via dei Polacchi; this area was acquired in 1981 by the Italian state, to become one of the headquarters of the National Roman Museum.

The museum is part of a vast complex of buildings (the churches of Santa Caterina dei Funari and San Stanislao dei Polacchi, about 7,000 m² with a building stock of about 40,000 cubic meters) acquired by the State in 1981 and which rises, in turn , on the arcaded courtyard attached to the Balbo theater, built by Lucio Cornelio Balbo in 13 BC, the Crypta Balbi, in fact.

The complex consists of an entire block enclosed between via delle Botteghe Oscure, via dei Polacchi, via dei Delfini and via Caetani, which over the centuries has seen different uses and settlements:

• in Roman times the urbanization consisted of the Crypta Balbi, the houses behind and the southern side of the Porticus Minucia, whose remains are visible on the other side of via delle Botteghe Oscure.
• in the early Middle Ages the church-convent of Santa Maria Domine Rose, with its garden and annexes, settled on the site.
• the houses in Via dei Delfini date back to the Middle Ages.
• in the Renaissance period a convent of Santa Caterina was installed here with an adjoining Conservatory (ie orphanage).
• the nearby church of San Stanislao and the annexed hospice for the Poles date back to the eighteenth century.

The specificity of the Crypta Balbi, in the context of the Roman National Museum, is that it is a museum of urban archeology, which researches and documents the evolution of that space, its settlements and its intended uses over the centuries.

Particular attention is paid to the findings that document craft activities (materials, tools, productions) carried out in the place in the post-classical and early medieval age, highlighting the continuity of the work and also the quality of the products, generally considered "obscure" in centuries, between the VII and X.

The exhibition, aimed at showing the evolution over time of activities and settlements, presents finds that took place on site, but also finds from other sites, and is very accurate and well documented, also from the didactic point of view, extensively describing only the exhibits on display, but also the historical contexts to which they refer.

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TIMETABLES

From Tuesday to Sunday 9.00-19.45
Baths of Diocletian 9.00-19.30
Last admission one hour before the Museum closes

The Octagonal Hall of the Baths of Diocletian, with virtual reality, can be visited by appointment in the following ways:
guided tour or accompanied entrance at 10.00 and 12.00
guided tour for individuals at 11.00
Reservations required at (+39) 06 39967701
edited by Coopculture

Map: National Roman Museum Crypta Balbi