Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Mantua's National Archaeological Museum presents the ancient history of the city and its surrounding territory within the Ducal Palace complex. Its collections extend from early farming communities to the early Middle Ages.

Why it matters

The archaeological material reveals a history much older than the Gonzaga court. Etruscan, Celtic, Roman and Lombard evidence connects Mantua with successive cultures along the Mincio and the wider Po plain.

What to notice

The Lovers of Valdaro are the original remains of two people buried together in prehistory, discovered in 2007. Their embracing position is striking, but does not establish the nature of their relationship. Grave goods place the burial within a wider funerary context. Other important material includes the reconstructed Roman monument of the gens Caepia, incorporating original fragments, and a gold cross of the Lombard period.

Context and history

The museum opened in 1998 and received a new display in 2016–2018. Its site had previously accommodated the Gonzaga court theatre, later a Habsburg theatre and then a market for silkworm cocoons and produce. Municipal transfer of the building to the State in 1978 enabled its conversion to archaeological use.