The entrance to the Archaeological Museum of Verona is located in the loggia of the Roman Theatre. The building itself was formerly the San Girolamo Monastery. From 1924 the museum has been located here. Many of the sculptures and objects on display were found in Verona itself.
Archaeological Museum Verona
Address, opening hours and entrance fee
Address: Rigaste Redentore 2 – Verona. Tel. +39 0458000360. Opening hours: From Tuesday to Sunday from 09.00 to 19.00. Monday from 1.45 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
The collection
Marble sculptures from the 1st century A.D. and mosaics from the 2nd and 3rd centuries are on display in the exhibition room near the lift. The pottery on display under glass dates from the 5th century B.C. (Greek period) to Roman times.
Along the corridor there are three monastic cells. The first two show bronze objects of Etruscan, Italian, Greek and Roman origin. Highlight is a two-sided female herm from the 2nd century AD. The seated eating Silene (half man, half horse) and the woman playing the crotales (a kind of glockenspiel) date back to the 5th century BC.
In the third room you can see objects from the Roman Imperial period, which were used in housekeeping and in funeral rites. There are many ceramic vases, terracotta lamps and glass-blown objects.
In the former refectory of the monastery you can see marble sculptures made in Verona itself. The inlaid polychrome marble floor mosaic dares back to the 3rd century, and is linked to the cult of Dionysus. Some of the sculptures in this room were found in Piazza del Duomo. The only partially visible fresco on the wall was painted by Giovan Francesco Caroto.
In the cloister there are funerary inscriptions on display. Most of them were found in Verona itself. The period stretches from the 1st to the 3rd century AD.
The so-called San Girolamo Chapel is decorated with frescoes painted in the 15th and 16th centuries. The “Announcement” is by Giovan Francesco Caroto. The wooden ceiling is painted with plant motifs and coats of arms.
Ground floor
In the room on the ground floor there are decorative elements from imperial palaces. There are also altars and statues dedicated to the Roman deities that were worshipped in Verona. In the floor is a mosaic that originally decorated a Roman villa in today’s Piazza Bra. Through an opening in the floor one can see the grandiose cavity used by the Romans to protect the theatre from water infiltration.
In the room next to the stairway, in addition to a 15th century wooden crucifix, inscriptions dedicated to the Celtic Goddess Dea Matrona can be seen.