The Celio Antiquarium

The Celio Antiquarium, built in 1890, became a municipal warehouse to contain the archaeological finds from the excavations carried out for the construction of the new neighborhoods designed after the proclamation of Rome as the Capital of Italy. The building was converted into a museum in 1929.

In 1939, due to the serious structural problems caused by the works on the underground line, the complex was abandoned; the finds, still waiting to find a definitive location, were transferred in part to the direction of the Capitoline Museums and in part to the Museum of Roman Civilization.

The materials that can be roughly estimated at about 80,000 finds, come from the excavations of the Esquiline Necropolis, the Sacred Area of ​​Sant'Omobono or from the votive deposits of Santa Maria della Vittoria and the Minerva Medica temple and can be dated between the 12th century BC and the sixth century AD.

Photo: Courtesy Sovrintendenza Archeologica di Roma