Museo archeologico nazionale ‘Giorgio Asproni’

The National Archaeological Museum Giorgio Asproni occupies a nineteenth-century palace in Nuoro. Its archaeological and palaeontological collections trace central Sardinia from prehistory to the early Middle Ages, with finds from the Barbagie and Ogliastra displayed alongside reconstructions of important sites.

Why it matters

The museum brings together archaeology and palaeontology from inland central Sardinia. Its collections span from the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages and include material from the Barbagie and Ogliastra. The state museum is housed in the neoclassical palace once owned by Giorgio Asproni, a nineteenth-century Sardinian intellectual and politician.

What to notice

Among the museum’s notable objects is the Sisaia burial from the Dorgali area, dated to 2200–1800 BC and associated with an early example of cranial trepanation in Sardinia. A group of bronze figurines from Domu de Orgia at Esterzili dates to about 1100–900 BC. The displays also include material from the sanctuaries of Su Tempiesu and sa Sedda ’e sos Carros, where a reconstructed fountain features carved mouflon heads. A metallurgy workshop, Roman finds and medieval silver and majolica broaden the collection’s range.

Context and history

The collection’s origins lie in objects entrusted to the Municipality of Nuoro by canon Mauro Sale. With private donations and fieldwork by the Gruppo Grotte Nuorese, a civic speleo-archaeological museum opened in 1978 and remained active until 1993. The municipality later made Giorgio Asproni’s former palace available to the Ministry of Culture. The National Archaeological Museum was inaugurated there in 2002; its exhibition occupies six rooms on the ground floor.