Museo Archeologico Civico Capitolare 'De Galitiis - De Albentiis - Tascini'

Atri's civic archaeological museum occupies three rooms in an eighteenth-century palazzo and presents finds from more than a century of local excavations, including two sixth-century BC burials preserved in their blocks of earth.

Why it matters

Ancient Hatria was a Picene centre that later minted its own coins. Excavations carried out from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries uncovered necropoleis, underground passages and Roman structures around Atri. The museum presents finds including jewellery, weapons, ceramics and inscriptions documenting pre-Roman, Roman and medieval history.

What to notice

The first room is dedicated to Vincenzo Rosati and includes finds from Atri and nearby towns, the Italic sanctuary of Colle San Giorgio, and the necropoleis of Colle della Giustizia and Pretara. Objects include ornaments, containers, weapons and architectural elements.

The second room presents prehistoric material, including flint and bone tools, decorated Neolithic ceramics and copper- and Bronze Age objects. Finds from the Colle Maralto settlement mark human presence in Atri's territory between the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age; some pieces are reproductions.

The third room contains funerary assemblages from sixth-century BC excavations at the Colle della Giustizia and Pretara necropoleis. Two burials, one male and one female, are preserved in blocks of earth. The grave goods include weapons, fibulae, necklaces, pendants and spindle whorls.

Context and history

The museum bears three family names — De Galitiis, De Albentiis, Tascini — because it occupies the 18th-century palazzo built for them near the cathedral quarter, a building that once belonged to the cathedral chapter, as the "Capitolare" in its title also recalls. The collection grew through archaeological work in the city and surrounding area. Its material documents Picene, Roman and medieval Atri, including the funerary landscapes around the hill and later reuse of Roman structures.