Museo Archeologico Nazionale della Basilicata Dinu Adamesteanu

Inside Potenza's Palazzo Loffredo, the National Archaeological Museum of Basilicata presents two floors of archaeological finds from the region, from communities before Greek colonisation to the Roman conquest. The museum is named for Dinu Adamesteanu, a Romanian-born archaeologist who helped establish the study of Lucanian archaeology.

Why it matters

Adamesteanu became the first director of Basilicata's archaeological superintendency in 1964 and led decades of excavation in the region. The museum opened in Palazzo Loffredo on 20 May 2005, bringing discoveries from central and northern Basilicata into a single collection. The palace also houses Potenza's civic art gallery and the Cappella dei Celestini.

What to notice

The displays are arranged in six sections across two floors, spanning the Paleolithic, Metal Ages, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic-Roman and Medieval periods. Finds from Vaglio include grave goods from the late sixth to mid-fifth century BC: armour from warrior burials and jewellery from women's tombs, evidence of a local elite. The fourth-century BC sanctuary of Rossano di Vaglio yielded embossed bronze plaques, fragments of bronze statues, gold and silver jewellery, and marble and terracotta statuettes. The museum also displays a red-figure pyxis attributed to the Darius Painter, dated to 340 BC, and a late-antique gold reliquary cross from Belmonte.

Context and history

Potenza's nineteenth-century municipal collection preceded the national museum. The institution opened in 2005 on the archaeological zone of la Croce, where excavations uncovered part of an ancient Peucetian settlement, including houses, production structures and a pottery kiln. It presents discoveries from the wider Basilicata landscape and belongs to a network of eight national archaeological museums across the region.