Archaeological Museum of Brindisi

National Archaeological Museum of Brindisi

Founded in 1884 in the headquarters of the San Giovanni al Sepolcro temple by Giovanni Tarantini, the Archaeological Museum of Brindisi initially collected donations from some local collectors and from materials found in the city excavations. The Museum soon became the cultural center of the city, thanks to the activity of a group of young intellectuals, the so-called "Brigata degli amatory di arte" led by Pasquale Camassa, who since 1911 has been the honorary director of the museum. In the early twentieth century, the temple was inadequate to contain the numerous finds returned from excavations and it was felt the need to design a more appropriate building. In 1934, the Provincial Administration of Brindisi has drawn up to the Superintendence the proposal to build a new museum site on the soil resulting from the demolished houses that were located around the temple of San Giovanni al Sepolcro. At the same time, he designed in the Piazza Duomo, on the same ground of the crumbling Civil Hospital, the construction of the Palace of Culture then destined to host the Provincial Library. During the excavations of the area, considerable archaeological evidence was found and documented by the lawyer Gabriele Marzano, honorary inspector of the Ministry of Education. He has the merit of proposing in 1952 the establishment of the Provincial Archaeological Museum in a wing of the Provincial Archaeological Museum, which was under construction. In 1954, Marzano was appointed Honorary Director of the Museum, which he held until 1980. In the early 1980s, the Provincial Library was moved to other sites and this made it possible the implementation of an expansion plan and the creation of a new exhibition hall. The new layout responded to the need to exhibit the findings of the Marzano collection purchased by the heirs in 1988 and the numerous finds from the sea, among which there are the bronzes of “Punta Del Serrone” found in summer 1992.
In 2009, the Museum reopens to the public in a new style, with an innovative museum pathway that offers historical perspective prospects and more modern and captivating display modes. The fundamental aim of the new object’s arrangement was a new layout, which allowed intervening with any modifications and new proposals, after the continuation of excavations and archaeological studies.