National Archaeological Museum of the Marches

The museum originated from a plan devised on 3 November 1860, the day after a Royal Decree issued by Lorenzo Valerio, Extraordinary Commissioner for the Marches, approved the establishment of a region-wide archaeological collection. The initiative was championed by Count Carlo Rinaldini, an epigraphic scholar and secretary of the Commission, and by Carisio Ciavarini, a literature teacher from Pesaro, both Risorgimento patriots committed to a positivist approach and determined to protect regional archaeological heritage from the thriving antique market. The institution was formally established in 1863 as the Gabinetto paleoetnografico ed archeologico delle Marche by the Regia Commissione Conservatrice delle Marche, and opened to the public in 1868 in the Regie Scuole Tecniche building on via San Martino. Rapid collection growth necessitated frequent relocations: to Palazzo degli Anziani, then in 1884 to the ex-convent of San Domenico, and in 1898 to the more spacious former convent of the Scalzi in via Duomo. In 1906, the museum received state recognition as a national museum, becoming the Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche, at a time when Italy counted only ten other national archaeological museums. Under Superintendent Giuseppe Moretti, it moved in 1923 to the ex-convent of San Francesco alle Scale, inaugurated by King Victor Emmanuel III on 9 October 1927. World War II bombing on 1 November 1943 caused significant damage, as collections had not been evacuated to the protective stores at Sassocorvaro arranged by Superintendent Pasquale Rotondi. Post-war reconstruction under Giovanni Annibaldi led to reopening in 1958 at Palazzo Ferretti. The devastating 1972 earthquake forced another closure until 1988, when Superintendent Delia Lollini completed restoration of the Picene section. Subsequent decades saw progressive reopenings: the Prehistoric and Bronze-Age sections in the 1990s, and the Hellenistic and Roman sections dedicated to Ancona in 2010 and 2015 under Superintendent Giuliano de Marinis and Director Nicoletta Frapiccini.

The museum documents the prehistory and protohistory of the Marches region with near completeness. Its collection of Picene civilization artifacts from the 9th to 4th centuries BC is the most comprehensive existing anywhere. Beyond this core strength, the museum holds substantial collections representing the Greek colony of Ankón, the Gallic Senones, and Roman civilization from the 4th century BC onward. The holdings span an extraordinary chronological range: from Paleolithic stone tools approximately 300,000 years old, through Neolithic, Copper Age, and Bronze Age materials, to the full sequence of Picene development from Protovillanovan through Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, and continuing into Roman and early medieval times. The numismatic collection, though not yet fully reopened as of 2015, represents another significant holding. The museum's collections have been assembled through systematic regional excavations, chance finds, and deliberate acquisition, rather than through inheritance of noble collections.

The Prehistoric section's centerpiece is the Frassasi Venus, a precious statuette dating to 28,000-25,000 years ago, displayed in a touchscreen glass case. Equally significant are Paleolithic instruments from Mount Conero circa 300,000 years old, the Neolithic settlement of Ripabianca di Monterado (6th millennium BC), the Copper Age site of Conelle di Arcevia (3rd millennium BC), twenty-five bronze daggers from the Ripatransone depot (circa 1800-1600 BC), Apennine and Subapennine pottery from the Frassasi gorge grottoes (1500-1200 BC), and the Protovillanovan cremation necropolis of Pianello di Genga (1200-1000 BC). The Protohistoric section features the Villanovian necropolis of Fermo (8th century BC) and outstanding Picene funerary objects from the princely Orientalizing period through the Archaic Age (late 8th to early 6th century BC), demonstrating Etruscan influence on Picene ritual and material culture. The Classical and Late Classical section presents evidence of Picene urban development and sustained contact with the Greek world, Magna Graecia, and Etruria, notably through the Numana-Sirolo necropolis with its Attic pottery and precious Etruscan bronze vessels. Celtic materials include important discoveries from Santa Paolina di Filottrano, San Filippo di Osimo, and Montefortino di Arcevia, featuring gold jewellery and weapons of the Senones. The Roman section includes the frieze and pediment from the temple of Civitalba, and extensive finds from the necropolis and settlement of Ancona (4th century BC-8th century AD), a major trading center with imported Mediterranean goods. The gilded bronzes of Cartoceto di Pergola, recovered in 1946 through the intervention of inspector Nereo Alfieri, comprise four pieces: a horseman, an equid, a woman, and the lower portion of a toga-clad figure. Another notable group is the Luristan bronzes, fifty-five artifacts excavated in 1983 by Giuliano de Marinis, mostly bronze with some iron swords, including zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figurines and domestic vessels.

Since 1958 the museum has been housed in Palazzo Ferretti, a prestigious 16th-century palace in Ancona. This building replaced earlier locations that had successively proved inadequate for the expanding collections: the Regie Scuole Tecniche (1868-1877), Palazzo degli Anziani, the ex-convent of San Domenico (from 1884), and the ex-convent of the Scalzi (1898-1923). From 1923 to 1958, the museum occupied the ex-convent of San Francesco alle Scale, where Superintendent Giuseppe Moretti and architect Arnolfo Bizzarri created an installation worthy of the collections, transforming cloisters into gardens and commissioning expert cabinetmakers. The 1972 earthquake severely damaged Palazzo Ferretti, necessitating sixteen years of closure and restoration before partial reopening in 1988.

The National Archaeological Museum of the Marches is located in Palazzo Ferretti in Ancona, the capital of the Marches region in central Italy. Since December 2014, it has been managed by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities through the Direzione regionale musei - Marche. The museum attracted 13,195 visitors in 2015. Its official website is http://www.archeomarche.beniculturali.it/. As of 2015, some sections remained to be fully reopened, specifically the early medieval section and the numismatic collection, while the Roman section also required completion.