Museo Archeologico Metauros

In Palazzo Baldari, an eighteenth-century palazzo in Gioia Tauro, the Museo Archeologico Metauros presents material from the ancient Greek colony and later settlements. Its collection includes grave goods from archaic necropolises, Roman glass and medieval ceramics.

Why it matters

Métauros was founded in the seventh century BC by settlers from Zancle, present-day Messina, and came under Locrian influence in the sixth century BC. The museum brings together finds that trace the ancient settlement from its Greek origins through later Roman and medieval activity.

What to notice

Many objects come from a large necropolis along the coast, dated from the seventh to fifth centuries BC. Small perfumed-oil flasks, including aryballoi and alabastra, Attic pottery and heavy SOS-type transport amphorae reflect local and wider Mediterranean connections. Roman-period finds include glass vessels with applied decoration from the second and third centuries AD. Medieval displays include glazed ceramics recovered near a square tower known as the “Normanna.” The collection also includes a Chalcidian black-figure crater, a Rhodian-Cretan cup with a painted bird and a bronze chariot model from a tomb in the Petrelli area.

Context and history

The ancient settlement occupied the Piano delle Fosse terrace, where later building has limited archaeological excavation. The nearby coast yielded the necropolis that supplies much of the museum’s collection. After the Greek colony’s prominence declined, Roman activity returned to the area, followed by medieval settlement. The modern town took the name Gioia Tauro in 1863, recalling its ancient predecessor. The museum is housed in Palazzo Baldari, an eighteenth-century building in the historic centre.