Faggiano Museum
The Faggiano Museum is a unique underground archaeological site in the historic centre of Taranto, Puglia, discovered accidentally in 2000 when the Faggiano family began excavating beneath their home at Via Ascanio Grandi 56 to repair a broken sewer pipe. What they uncovered was a stratified sequence of civilisations spanning three millennia — Messapian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Templar, medieval and Baroque — all preserved beneath a single private townhouse. The site opened as a family-run museum in 2008 and has become one of southern Italy’s most visited heritage attractions.
At a glance
- Type
- Underground archaeological museum
- Period
- Layers from c. 7th century BC to 17th century AD; discovered 2000; opened as museum 2008
- Style
- Multi-period: Messapian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, medieval, Baroque
- Location
- Via Ascanio Grandi 56, 74123 Taranto TA, Puglia, Italy
- Coordinates
- 40.3501° N, 18.1702° E
Overview
The Faggiano Museum occupies the basement and subterranean levels of a 17th-century palazzo in the old town of Taranto, on the Ionian Sea coast of Puglia. Its extraordinary archaeological sequence was uncovered entirely by a private family without institutional backing, making it one of the most remarkable accidental discoveries in modern Italian heritage history. Today it operates as a privately managed museum, preserving and displaying finds in situ across multiple levels descending some seven metres below street level.
History
In 2000, Luciano Faggiano purchased the building intending to open a restaurant, and initiated what he believed would be a simple plumbing repair. Instead, his family spent years excavating a series of chambers, cisterns, corridors and tombs representing continuous human habitation of the site from at least the Messapian period (c. 7th–4th century BC). The site yielded Hellenistic and Roman artefacts, a Byzantine crypt decorated with early Christian symbols, evidence of a medieval granary, and remains attributed to the Knights Templar who maintained a presence in Taranto during the Crusades. The Puglia regional authorities eventually recognised the site and supported its conservation, and the Faggiano Museum opened to the public in 2008.
What you see
Visitors descend through multiple subterranean levels, each corresponding to a different historical stratum exposed during excavation. Highlights include Messapian burial chambers with pottery, a Roman domus floor with mosaic fragments, a Byzantine crypt with carved Christian imagery, and a medieval grain-storage level. Templar symbols, including crosses carved into stone walls, are visible in one of the lower chambers. The ground floor of the palazzo itself, now serving as the museum entrance, retains its Baroque fabric alongside display cases housing the most significant portable finds recovered during the decade-long family dig.
Cultural significance
The Faggiano Museum exemplifies the depth of Taranto’s layered history as one of Magna Graecia’s most important colonies and a strategic Mediterranean port through antiquity and the medieval period. Its discovery by a private family rather than a state-funded excavation has made it a symbol of grassroots heritage stewardship in Italy, and it has attracted international media coverage as a story of accidental discovery opening a window onto three thousand years of continuous civilisation. The site also provides a rare virtual-tour experience, making its stratified sequence accessible to global audiences.
Practical information
- Address
- Via Ascanio Grandi 56, 74123 Taranto TA
- Opening hours
- Check the official website for current hours; generally open daily in summer
- Admission
- Ticket required; reduced rates available for students and groups
- Contact
- Check official website or local tourism office in Taranto
Getting there
The museum is located in the historic centre (città vecchia) of Taranto, on the island between the Mar Grande and the Mar Piccolo. By rail: Taranto railway station is approximately 1.5 km away; walk or take a local bus to the old town. By car: parking is available near Piazza Fontana at the entrance to the old-town island. The site is not accessible by public transport directly to the door; a short walk across the swing bridge from the modern city is required.