National Archaeological Museum of Altino

Last updated
National Archaeological Museum of Altino
Museo archeologico nazionale di Altino (MANA)
Nuovo Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Altino.jpg
The new museum
National Archaeological Museum of Altino
Established29 May 1960 (1960-05-29) -->
Location Quarto d'Altino
Coordinates 45°32′27″N12°23′53″E / 45.5407°N 12.3981°E / 45.5407; 12.3981 Coordinates: 45°32′27″N12°23′53″E / 45.5407°N 12.3981°E / 45.5407; 12.3981
Type Archaeology museum
Collection size40,000 items
Visitors10,708 (2015)
Foundercount Jacopo Marcello
DirectorMariolina Gamba
ArchitectFerdinando Forlati (old museum)
Stefano Filippi (new museum)
Owner Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities of Italy
Nearest parkingOn site (no charge)

The National Archaeological Museum of Altino (in italian: Museo archeologico nazionale di Altino, MANA) is an archaeology museum next to the archaeological site of Altinum. It is located in the frazione Altino of the municipality of Quarto d'Altino, in the Metropolitan City of Venice.

Contents

The museum, which preserves the most representative archaeological finds of Altinum, and the nearby archaeological site of Altino are included in the UNESCO World Heritage site "Venice and its lagoon".

History

Old museum

The old seat of the Museum, now used as a warehouse for archaeological finds (AltinoLab) Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Altino (Altino, Quarto d'Altino).jpg
The old seat of the Museum, now used as a warehouse for archaeological finds (AltinoLab)

At the end of the 1950s the construction of the museum began, based on a project by the architect Ferdinando Forlati, [1] to collect the finds found at the end of the 19th century during agricultural work and during the first excavations of 1936-1937. Initially the objects were kept at Villa Reali in Dosson (Treviso). [2]

The small museum, built by the Superintendence and Count Jacopo Marcello, was inaugurated on 29 May 1960 and consisted of two rooms, one of which was used as an exhibition space divided into two rooms, the other as a warehouse of archaeological finds; in the outer porch are exposed some tombstones. Until then, the number and above all the importance of the excavations in the area in question, under the management of the Archaeological Superintendence, had been extremely low. Since 1966, however, numerous excavations have been carried out in the area of Via Annia, which brought to light more than 2000 finds of tombs and burial places. At the time of its inauguration the Museum had less than a thousand objects, while today there are more than 40,000 artifacts from the surrounding archaeological areas of Altino, in the middle of which is the museum. [3]

Some parts of the collection, such as inscriptions, funerary stelae or glass finds, single archaeological studies have been carried out and specialised exhibitions are being organised.

First director of the museum was the archaeologist Michele Tombolani (1943-1989), replaced in 1987 by the archaeologist Margherita Tirelli. From 2015 the new director of the museum is the archaeologist Mariolina Gamba. [4]

New museum

Observation tower at MANA MANA - Torre di osservazione.jpg
Observation tower at MANA

Because of the growing number of finds, it was decided to expand the museum and in 1984 the Italian national government acquired two buildings (part of a 19th century farm used for rice production) in the locality of "Fornace", not far from the first museum. However, due to lack of funds, the restoration work was interrupted after a short time. In December 2009, thanks to the intervention of the Veneto Region and funds allocated by the European Union for a total of 6 million euros, the restoration and restoration work resumed. [1]

On December 12, 2014, the new museum was inaugurated, but it remained open for only one single day. [5]

Barchessa at MANA MANA - barchessa.jpg
Barchessa at MANA

On 4 July 2015, the new seat of the Altino Archaeological Museum was definitively opened to the audience. [6] Today it has about 1,800 m² of exhibition space (compared to 180 m² in the old headquarters, now used as a warehouse) on the three floors of the former rice farm, a barchessa and a new modern structure (designed by architect Stefano Filippi) with an observation tower over the surrounding countryside and the lagoon of Venice. [7]

The spaces for restoration, cataloguing and creation of reproductions and photographs have been created, together with a book-shop and a cafeteria, but have not yet been activated.

Exhibition

Prehistoric wooden items MANA - reperti in legno.jpg
Prehistoric wooden items

In the first section, on the ground floor of the former rice farm, there is a selection of finds that testify to the prehistoric occupation of the lagoon margin in which Altinum was built between the 10th and 2nd BC; in the second section, there is evidence of the development of the centre through the Iron Age (1st millennium BC) according to a thematic scan: religion, settlement, language and writing, the necropolis (with reconstructions of some Venetian, Celtic and Romanized burials), up to the imposing tombs of horses with, next to it, the exposure of the relative harnesses, pieces of great value as they are rather rare. [8]

Glasses from the Roman era Vasi di vetro (Museo Archeologico Nazionale e Area Archeologica di Altino).jpg
Glasses from the Roman era

The first floor is dedicated to the transformations of the center of Altinum documented through the centuries that led the indigenous settlement to the Romanization (2nd-1st century BC) and then the full Romanity (1st-3rd century AD), following once again a thematic criterion: the spatial and urban planning, roads, villas and domus, fashion and jewelry, characters, society, professions, trade. Here you will find some of the most significant objects of daily life of the Roman Altino: the gold necklace made in Taranto (datable between the end of 2nd and 1st century BC), the glass murrini, marble portraits that decorated the funeral monuments of the richest, but also toys for children and leather soles of the shoes of the ancient altinatians. [8]

The second floor, not yet set up, will host a section on the altered Roman necropolises and one on the late antique history of the city.

The exhibition will be completed by a section dedicated to the emporical sanctuary in Fornace, the discovery of which highlighted the important role played by Altino as a commercial port pre-Roman and Roman, and the exhibition, on the third floor, of the findings of the late antiquity.

Archaeological area of Altinum

Columns and capitals on display outside the old museum building Museo Altino.JPG
Columns and capitals on display outside the old museum building
Remains of the decumanus that crossed the northeastern quarter of the city of Altinum Altino scavi.JPG
Remains of the decumanus that crossed the northeastern quarter of the city of Altinum

The archaeological area of Altinum is the archaeological reserve of the buried city, known in part through excavations and research from the nineteenth century onwards. As evidence of the ancient city, two archaeological sites can be visited, located about 500 metres (550 yd) away from the National Archaeological Museum of Altino and adjacent to AltinoLab, the former headquarters of the museum active from 1960 to 2015. [8]

One of the two areas preserves the remains of the monumental landing gate, which from the first century BC marks the northern entrance into the city, and an urban hinge that connected the gate with the town. [8]

In the other area it is possible to observe a small portion of the residential district, which was an urban expansion at the beginning of the first century AD. A stretch of urban road, paved with stone bases and bordered by crepidines, is particularly striking for its extraordinary state of conservation; on this road faces the domus of the Panther, so called because of the black and white mosaic in the atrium, which shows the animal while drinking. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adria</span> Comune in Veneto, Italy

Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po. The remains of the Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below the modern city, three to four metres below the current level. Adria and Spina were the Etruscan ports and depots for Felsina. Adria may have given its name during an early period to the Adriatic Sea, to which it was connected by channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Archaeological Museum, Naples</span> Museum in Naples, Italy

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is an important Italian archaeological museum, particularly for ancient Roman remains. Its collection includes works from Greek, Roman and Renaissance times, and especially Roman artifacts from the nearby Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum sites. From 1816 to 1861, it was known as Real Museo Borbonico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altinum</span>

Altinum was an ancient town of the Veneti 15 km SE of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers Dese, Zero and Sile. A flourishing port and trading centre during the Roman period, it was destroyed by Attila the Hun in 452. The town recovered, but was later abandoned when sea-borne sand began to cover it over. Its inhabitants moved to Torcello and other islands of the northern part of the lagoon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sile (river)</span> River in Italy

The Sile is a 95 km river in the Veneto region in north-eastern Italy. Its springs are in the municipality of Vedelago in the Province of Treviso. It flows into the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice at the mouth of the River Piave Vecchia. It receives the waters of its tributary, the Botteniga, at Treviso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Nazionale Romano</span> Museum in Rome, Italy

The National Roman Museum is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological findings from the period of Ancient Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quarto d'Altino</span> Comune in Veneto, Italy

Quarto d'Altino is a town in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, Italy. SP41 provincial road goes through it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laüs</span> Ancient Italian city

Laüs or Laus was an ancient city of Magna Graecia on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was a colony of Sybaris at the mouth of the Lao River, which formed the boundary between Lucania and Bruttium in ancient times. The river and the city have the same name in Ancient Greek. Today the archaeological site of the city can be found at a short distance to the east of Marcellina, a frazione of the comune of Santa Maria del Cedro in Calabria.

The Via Annia was the Roman road in Venetia in north-eastern Italy. It run on the low plains of the lower River Po and of the lower Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, an area which had many rivers and large marsh areas and bordered the coastal lagoons. It linked Atria to Aquileia, passing through Patavium. Then it got to the mainland coast of the Lagoon of Venice near today's Mestre and passed through Altinum. After this, it went through Iulia Concordia, which was further inland. It was paved only through the main towns. The rest was gravelled. It was six to eighteen metre wide. It played an important part in the Romanization of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia</span>

The Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria or Palazzo Piacentini is a museum in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy, housing an archaeological collection from sites in Magna Graecia.

The archaeological area of Poggio del Molino is situated on the northern side of a headland that acts as a watershed between the beach of Rimigliano in the north, and the Gulf of Baratti in the south; to the northern border of the territory administered by the city of Piombino in the Italian Province of Livorno. The structure of Roman age spreads over a high plateau of about 20 m asl which dominates, in the west, the stretch of a sea between San Vincenzo and Elba and to the east, the metalliferous hills and plains of the Campiglia lagoon. The top of the hill is occupied by the beautiful Villa del Barone, built in 1923 by Baron Luigi De Stefano and Assunta Vanni Desideri, the daughter of Eugenio. From a paper of the 16th century, the "Bandita di Porto Baratti", and some archival documents we know that the Poggio owes its name to the mill which was a part of Torre Nuova, the building of coastal defense and a lookout built in the early sixteenth century by Cosimo I de' Medici, on the slopes of the promontory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Provinciale di Torcello</span> Archaeology museums, Art museum in Veneto, Italy

The Provincial Museum of Torcello is a museum founded at the end of 19th century on the Venetian island of Torcello. It has two sections: the Archaeological Section and the Medieval and Modern Section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeological Museum, Milan</span>

The Archaeological Museum of Milan is located in the ex-convent of the Monastero Maggiore, alongside the ancient church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, with entrance on Corso Magenta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venice National Archaeological Museum</span> Italian archaeological museum

The National Archaeological Museum is a museum located right on Piazza San Marco in Venice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeological Museum of Savona</span>

The Archaeological Museum of Savona is located in Palazzo della Loggia inside the Priamar Fortress. It presents the history of the Priamar promontory and the town of Savona. On the exposition are old collections of objects from around the Mediterranean and artifacts from the 20th century excavations of the fortress and its surrounding. The museum has two floors and inside it is possible to see original excavation pits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi</span>

The Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi of Syracuse, Sicily is one of the principal archaeological museums of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo</span> Archaeology museum in Chieti

Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo is an archaeology museum in Chieti, Abruzzo.

<i>Stele of Isola Vicentina</i> 4th century BC stele found in Isola Vicentina

The stele of Isola Vicentina is an ancient prehistoric artefact found in the municipality of Isola Vicentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Archaeological Museum of Nuoro</span> National museum in Sardinia, Italy

The Giorgio Asproni National Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum in the historic centre of Nuoro, in Sardinia, near the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Snows. Established in 2002, it is located in a nineteenth-century building that belonged to Giorgio Asproni, a Sardinian politician and intellectual of that era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jatta National Archaeological Museum</span> Archaeological museum in Ruvo di Puglia, Italy

The Jatta National Archaeological Museum in Ruvo di Puglia, a historic city in southern Italy, was set up in rooms of Palazzo Jatta and represents the only example in Italy of a nineteenth-century private collection that has remained unaltered from the original museographic concept. The finds preserved in the museum were collected by the archaeologist Giovanni Jatta in the early nineteenth century and his collection was subsequently enriched by his nephew of the same name and was sold to the Italian state in the twentieth century.

References

  1. 1 2 Silvia Conte (2010-05-14). "Altino: ecco "Mana", l'archeomuseo 2.0". Gente Veneta. Archived from the original on 2016-06-04. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  2. Vincenzo Tiné, ed. (2014-01-23). Archeomusei - Musei archeologici in Italia 2001-2011. Borgo San Lorenzo: All'insegna del giglio. pp. 119–120. ISBN   978-88-7814-582-5.
  3. Andrea Ninfo; Alessandro Fontana; Paolo Mozzi; Francesco Ferrarese (2009). The Map of Altinum, Ancestor of Venice. Science. Vol. 325. p. 577. doi:10.1126/science.1174206. PMID   19644113. S2CID   206520102.
  4. "A Venezia cinque nuovi direttori dei musei". La Nuova Venezia . 2015-10-28.
  5. Melody Fusaro (2014-12-12). "Altino dopo 30 anni inaugura per poche ore il "museo che non c'è"". Il Gazzettino.
  6. M.C. (2015-07-02). "Altino: il museo apre nella nuova sede". Gente Veneta.
  7. Enrico Tantucci (2014-12-02). "Trent'anni di lavori: il Museo apre, ma solo per un giorno". la Nuova Venezia .
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Museo Archeologico Nazionale e Area Archeologica di Altino". dati.beniculturali.it. Retrieved 2019-08-25.

Bibliography