National Roman Museum - Virtual Tour 360°

The National Roman Museum is an archaeological museum in Rome that houses collections relating to the history and culture of the city in ancient times.

It was entirely reorganized under the aegis of the Superintendence of Archaeological Heritage of the city of Rome.

 

History and collections

The museum was established in 1889 (and inaugurated the following year), to collect the antiquities of the city dated between the fifth century BC. and the third century AD The Roman archaeological collections of the Kircherian Museum and the numerous finds that were being discovered in the city following the urban transformations determined by the new role of capital of the Kingdom of Italy, at first intended to be exhibited in a "Tiberian Museum", never realized. In 1901 the villa Ludovisi was purchased by the state and the important collection of ancient sculptures was transferred to the museum.

The seat was established in the rooms of the large cloister of the convent of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, built starting from the sixteenth century in the baths of Diocletian.

The rehabilitation of the ancient thermal baths was initiated on the occasion of the 1911 International Exhibition and the acquisition of the main nucleus of the Ludovisi collection.

The exhibition was completed in the 1930s.

A new reorganization of the Museum was financed by the special law for the antiquities of Rome of 1981, thus making it possible to purchase Palazzo Massimo alle Terme and Palazzo Altemps.

In the 1990s a radical transformation was initiated, which divided the works between four different exhibition venues of:

• Baths of Diocletian
• Massimo Palace
• Altemps Palace
• Crypta Balbi

Map: National Roman Museum - Virtual Tour 360°