National Archaeological Museum

National Archaeological Museum

Piazza Castello. (Open Map)

Description

It is situated in what was once the Gonzaga court theatre. At the end of the nineteenth century it was a market selling cocoons: silkworms were then commonly bred in the Mantuan countryside.

It is currently being turned into the home of the future Museo Archeologico Nazionale, of wich a part regarding the archaeology of the Mantuan zone can already be visited. Items found in town and province are keptdistinct and include: prehistoric stone, pottery and metal finds, Venetian, Etruscan and Celtic items (bronze ware, a fine branched candlestick from Castiglione delle Stiviere, weapons, jewellery, jogs and bowls), evidence of the presence of Byzantines, Goths and Longobards.

The array of exhibits includes the so-called ‘Amanti di Valdaro’, a pair of skeletons buried in an embrace 6,000 years ago.