Museo Archeologico Regionale, Palermo
Courtyard of the Archaeological Museum. Photo © Paradoxplace.com.
Amphorae in the Parlermo Archaeological Museum.
Photo © Paradoxplace.com.
Frieze of the Quadriga of the Sun from Selinunte. Photo
reziemba.Location map and aerial view of the museum. For a larger view,
see our Palermo Map or get our free Google Earth download.
Housed in a former monastery of the Filippini, Palermo's Regional Archaeological Museum is the most important museum in Sicily and one of the grandest archaeological museums in Italy.
The Museo Archeologico Regionale is positively stuffed with artifacts from prehistoric times to the Roman era.
Spread over several buildings, the oldest from the 13th century, the museum's collection includes major Sicilian finds from the Phoenician, Punic, Greek, Roman, and Saracen periods, with several noteworthy treasures from Egypt.
Most of the treasures come from the Sicilian sites of Tindari, Termini Imerese, Agrigento, Siracusa, Selinunte, and Mozia.
Even though some of the exhibitions appear shabby and the museum is definitely not state-of-the-art, its treasures – which include sarcophagi, sculptures, anchors, pottery, and jewelry – are worth wading through the dust to see.
Visitors pass through small cloisters on the ground floor, centered around a lovely hexagonal 16th-century fountain bearing a statue of Triton. In room 3 is some rare Phoenician art, including a pair of sarcophagi that date from the 5th century BC
In room 4 is the Pietra di Palermo, a black diorite slab known as the Rosetta Stone of Sicily. Dating back to 2700 BC, and discovered in Egypt in the 19th century, it was intended for the British Museum. Somehow, because of red tape, it got left behind in Palermo. It contains carved hieroglyphics detailing information about the pharaohs, including the delivery of 40 shiploads of cedarwood to Snefru.
The most important treasures of the museum, in room 13, are the metopes of Selinunte. These finds were unearthed at the temples of Selinunte, once one of the major cities of Magna Graecia (Greek colonies along the coast of southern Italy). The Selinunte sculptures are remarkable for their beauty.
Displayed are three magnificent metopes from Temple C, a quartet of splendid metopes from Temple E, and, in the center, a 5th-century bronze statue, Ephebe of Selinunte. These decorative friezes, from the 6th century to the 5th century BC, depict such scenes as Perseus slaying Medusa, the Rape of Europa by Zeus, and Actaeon being transformed into a stag.
Etruscan antiquities fill rooms 14 to 17. Discoveries at the Tuscan town of Chisu, such as the unearthing of funereal cippi (stones), shed more light on these mysterious people. The Oinochoe Vase, from the 6th century BC, is one of the most detailed artifacts of Etruscan blackened earthenware (called bucchero).
Other exhibit halls on the ground floor display underwater archaeology, with the most complete collection of ancient anchors, mostly Punic and Roman, in the world.
Finds from Greek and Roman sites in western Sicily are to be seen on the second floor in rooms 2 and 12. These include funereal aedicules (openings framed by two columns, an entablature, and usually a pediment), oil lamps, and votive terra cottas.
In room 7 is a remarkable and rare series of large Roman bronzes, including the most impressive, a supremely realistic bronze Ram, a Hellenistic work from Syracuse. It's certainly worth the climb up the steps.
Another notable work here is Hercules Killing the Stag, discovered at Pompeii, a Roman copy of a Greek original from the 3rd century BC. In room 8, the most remarkable sculpture is Satyr Filling a Drinking Cup, a Roman copy of a Praxitelean original.
On the third floor is a prehistoric collection along with Greek ceramics, plus Roman mosaics and frescoes. The highlight of the collection is panels illustrating Orpheus with Wild Animals, from the 3rd century AD.
Quick Facts
| Address: | Piazza Olivella 24, Palermo, Sicily, Italy |
| Phone: | 091 611 6805 |
| Bus: | 101, 102, 103, 104, or 107 |
| Hours: | Tues-Sat 8:30am-6:15pm; Sun 9am-1pm |
| Cost: | 4.50€ adults, 2€ children |
