MAV — Museo Archeologico Virtuale di Ercolano

A few steps from the excavations of Herculaneum, the MAV answers the question every visitor asks: what did this place look like while it was still alive? Screens, holograms and immersive rooms rebuild the Roman city before AD 79, then carry the story forward into the digital present.

Why it matters

The Virtual Archaeological Museum of Ercolano (MAV) presents digital reconstructions of Pompeii and Herculaneum before the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. More than seventy multimedia installations recreate daily life in the Roman cities, complementing the material remains preserved by the excavations.

What to notice

The scenographic reconstructions and holograms that fill the ground floor are the core experience, but the building has grown into a genuine production hub. Look for the Sala Herculaneum, the room devoted to the town outside the door, and the Space Gallery and Space Lab, which host temporary exhibitions and workshops. The MAV Studios 3D lab produces the museum's own digital models, and the auditorium runs a programme that in recent seasons has ranged from heritage-technology events to temporary exhibitions. The museum is explicit about its own method: playful, interactive learning that mixes the real and the imagined, addressed to visitors of every age rather than to specialists.

Context and history

The museum grew out of a deliberate act of urban regeneration. In 2003 the Municipality of Ercolano and the Province of Naples signed an agreement to convert the former Iaccarino school building into a virtual archaeology museum, and on 30 December 2005 the two authorities established the Fondazione C.I.V.E.S. — Centro Integrato per la Valorizzazione di Ercolano e degli Scavi — to run it. The MAV opened on 9 July 2008, and in May 2009 the Region of Campania joined the foundation, whose members now also include the Metropolitan City of Naples and the Municipality of Ercolano. Choosing a disused school for the project signalled its purpose: tying the ancient city to the economic and cultural life of the modern one.