Museo Archeologico di Torre di Palme

The Archaeological Museum of Torre di Palme presents burial objects from a Picene necropolis discovered below the Adriatic village.

Why it matters

The finds preserve evidence of the Picene communities who lived on this coast before Roman Firmum. The burials and their grave goods reveal social rank, funerary customs and contacts with other parts of central Italy.

What to notice

The collection is arranged around three burials. One early grave, dated between the ninth and seventh centuries BC, contained a copper-alloy dagger and a flint object. A sixth-century BC burial of a high-status woman includes a bronze ring and other objects associated with textile production and feasting. A child's grave contains amulets, including a cowrie shell and a horse-shaped pendant.

Context and history

The museum opened in 2019 in a post-war building in Torre di Palme. It presents finds from the Cugnolo necropolis, where about twenty tombs were discovered on the slope below the village. The burials span the first millennium BC and document the development of Picene communities along the Adriatic coast.