Museo di Merceologia - Polo museale Sapienza

The Museum of the Study of Marketable Goods was founded in 1906 by Vittorio Villavecchia and located in the Istituto di Merceologia in piazza Borghese. It was moved to its current location in 1972. Through a collection of 6,000 pieces the Museum collects the testimonies of mankind’s economic and commercial activities. A whole production cycle is exhibited, showing how raw materials are transformed into finished products. Therefore the corresponding manufactured products are exhibited next to equipment and raw materials such as minerals, metals, plastics, skins, natural and artificial fibers, detergents, and food. The replacement in the course of time of some materials that are either worked out or no longer exploited, with others that were created or discovered recently is also documented.