Bronze figurines of Mars (votive offerings). Fifth century BCE.
My travel guide described the archaeological museum of Ancona as “superb but under-visited”.[1] “Under-visited” turned out to be quite an understatement: for a long time we were the only visitors. Now it should be noted that the museum has a turbulent history and does not always give an impression of professionalism. The sections on Roman history are light and modern, with captions in Italian and English. But the sections on prehistory, the Piceni and Celts are rather dark, with faded information panels almost exclusively in Italian. And while most Italian museums nowadays allow visitors to pay by card, the archaeological museum of Ancona only accepts cash payments. Nevertheless we thoroughly agreed with our travel guide after our visit: the Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche is indeed “superb”.
History
The museum is a product of the Risorgimento (“Resurgence”), the process that led to the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century. The founding of the museum was promoted by two Italian patriots, Carlo Rinaldini (1824-1866) and Carisio Ciavarini (1837-1905). On the one hand, they wanted the new-born Italians to become acquainted with their distant past, and on the other, they wanted to save the many recent archaeological discoveries from the black market. In 1863 the archaeological museum opened its doors. Because of the steady flow of new archaeological artefacts it constantly needed larger accommodation. As a consequence, it was frequently relocated. Between 1884 and 1898 the museum was for instance housed in the former convent of San Domenico and between 1923 and 1958 in the former convent of San Francesco alle Scale. In the meantime the museum had made quite a name for itself. In 1906 it was granted the status of a national museum and in 1927 the official opening of the museum in the convent of San Francesco was performed by the then king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III.
Salone delle Feste in the Palazzo Ferretti.
World War Two was an awful time for the archaeological museum. In 1943 and 1944 the building and collection were damaged by Allied bombardments. When the war had ended, it soon became clear that a return to the former convent was not an option. As a new location the beautiful sixteenth-century Palazzo Ferretti was chosen. This palazzo may have been designed by the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546), and it was built between 1560 and 1566 by Sangallo’s colleague Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527-1596), who also served as lead architect of the Duomo of Milan for a while. Tibaldi also provided the palazzo with beautiful frescoes, for instance in the Salone delle Feste. Other frescoes were painted by Federico Zuccari (1539-1609). In the eighteenth century the Palazzo Ferretti was expanded by the Italian-Dutch architect Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-1773).
The Palazzo Ferretti turned out to be the ideal location for the museum, but in 1972 it regretfully had to close its doors again after a heavy earthquake. In 1988 the archaeological museum was reopened, albeit only partially. Visitors could only admire the collections of objects from prehistoric times and the Picene and Celtic era. Only in 2010, 2015 and 2023 were the Hellenic and Roman sections reopened, bit by bit and piece by piece. However, this does not mean that the process of reopening has now come to an end. During my visit in the summer of 2024 the medieval collection and the collection of coins were still inaccessible to the public.
Venus of Frasassi.
Prehistory, Piceni and Celts
The most famous prehistoric item in the museum collection is without a doubt the Venus of Frasassi. This Venus, which is estimated to be between 20,000 and 27,000 years old, was found in 2007 in a cave by pure chance. The object is a mere 8.7 centimetres high and probably represents a pregnant woman. She extends her hands over her swollen belly and appears to be giving something or saying a prayer.
The Piceni are the inhabitants of the Marche who left their mark on the region between the ninth and third centuries BCE. From the sixth century onwards their culture was influenced by that of the Etruscans and Greeks. In the early fourth century various Celtic tribes invaded Italy. They settled in the Po valley and took control of the Etruscan cities there. The Insubres remained in the north, where they founded the town of Mediolanum, modern Milan, near the Etruscan settlement of Melpum. The Cenomani settled east of them and had their principal settlement at Brixia (present-day Brescia). The Boii and Lingones had in their turn crossed the Po, the former capturing the important Etruscan town of Felsina or Velzna, which is modern Bologna. Of all the Celtic peoples the Senones advanced furthest south. It was probably this Celtic threat that led to an alliance between the Piceni and Romans. In 295 BCE the Romans and their allies defeated a coalition of Senones and Samnites in the famous battle of Sentinum (near modern Sassoferrato). In 284 BCE the Senones were defeated for good, after which the Romans founded their first colony on Gallic soil, the town of Sena Gallica on the Adriatic Sea. The town is nowadays known as Senigallia and lies west of Ancona.
Warrior of Numana, seventh century BCE.
Many rooms in the archaeological museum are dedicated to the culture of the Piceni. The Piceni were a warlike people, which is demonstrated by the many weapons, helmets and other warrior objects that have been put on display (photos above). Interesting objects are a Villanova helmet from the eighth century BCE, disk-shaped breastplates made of bronze (kardiophylakes – “heart protectors”) from the seventh century, a bronze belt and greaves, and especially the so-called Warrior of Numana. Here we see the head of a man from the middle of the seventh century (photo on the right). He is wearing a helmet, so we may identify him as a soldier. The head was made of limestone and was found in 1892 in a small town south of Ancona.
Animals seem to have played an important role in the culture of the Piceni. In the museum we see a lot of animal images, especially of horses, for instance on the kardiophylakes mentioned above. Very beautiful are the bronze handles of a water jar (hydria), which come from the tomb of an important leader who lived in the sixth century BCE. The central figure of the decorations of the handles is a warrior dressed as a Greek hoplite, with a cuirass and a Corinthian helmet. The warrior is flanked by horses, lions, birds and snakes. The exact meaning of the ensemble can now no longer be reconstructed, but in Italian the warrior is sometimes called a signore degli animali (“lord of the animals”). Also quite interesting are the Picene epitaphs. Although the Picene alphabet has been deciphered, it is not always possible to comprehend the epitaphs. We for instance do not know the meaning of the text on a stone from Novilara (northwest of Ancona). We see a man on horseback encountering an animal. As the horseman has a spear, we might be looking at a hunting scene.
Bronze handles of a water jar (hydria), sixth century BCE.
Stele with text from Novilara.
The arrival of the Celtic Senones led to a hybrid culture in the Marche with Picene, Celtic, Etruscan and Greek elements. The Senones were also a warlike people, and so we find a lot of Celtic war gear in the museum collection. A remarkable object is a Celto-Italian helmet from the second half of the fourth century BCE that is topped by a kind of trident. No doubt feathers or plumes were once attached to the spikes to make the warrior look bigger and more impressive. The most impressive Celtic objects in the museum are, however, the golden objects that were found in various Celtic tombs. In a tomb near Osimo (Auximum) from the middle of the fourth century BCE a golden necklace in Etruscan style was found, while in a tomb near Montefortino di Arcevia from ca. 220-200 BCE golden bracelets, torques and wreaths were discovered. Especially the wreaths, in Greek style, are splendid. For obvious reasons the golden objects have been put on display behind glass, which unfortunately does make it harder to take good pictures.
Greeks and Romans
Wall fresco of a Roman house, first century BCE.
Around the year 387 BCE Greek colonists from Syracuse on Sicily settled on a promontory flanked by the Adriatic Sea. The colonists thought that the promontory looked a lot like an elbow, and so they called the settlement that they founded Ankon (Ἀγκών), the Greek word for this part of the body. This is how Ancona got its name, and thanks to the new town Greek influence in the Marche became stronger and more direct. Underneath the cathedral of Ancona one can still see the remains of the temple of Aphrodite or Venus. The archaeological museum possesses a scale model of the temple.
Much greater was, however, the influence of the Romans. The Romans had initially been allies of the Piceni, but for unknown reasons the two people got into a conflict in 268 BCE. The consul Publius Sempronius Sophus defeated the Piceni and took their capital of Asculum (modern Ascoli Piceno). Many survivors were deported to Campania, where the town of Picentia was founded for them. The Piceni who remained in the Marche were loyal socii or auxiliaries in the Roman armies, but they detested the fact that they were not granted Roman citizenship. Many therefore joined the rebels during the so-called Social War, which broke out in 91 BCE. However, other Piceni remained loyal to Rome and chose to fight against the rebels. A good example is Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, consul in 89 BCE and father of the famous Pompeius Magnus. Strabo managed to capture Asculum by force in his year of office, but that same year the Piceni were granted the Roman citizenship that they had so coveted thanks to the Lex Plautia Papiria.
Among the more interesting Roman objects in the archaeological museum is a frieze made of clay that once adorned a temple in Civitalba. Civitalba lies not far from Sentinum, where the Romans defeated the Celtic Senones in 295 BCE (an event already mentioned above). It is generally assumed that the frieze refers to the Celtic defeat. We see fleeing Celts with long hair, moustaches and the distinctive torques and rectangular shields. There is also an image of a chariot of which the horses trample to death a Celt. The frieze, by the way, does not depict the fighting at Sentinum, but another historical battle. The fleeing Celts can be seen dropping various pillaged objects. This is a reference to the attempt by a Celtic horde in 279 BCE to loot the famous temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece. The Celts were defeated by the Aetolians and hastily drummed up forces from Phocis. The Celtic commander Brennus was mortally wounded and later committed suicide. It is possible that “Brennus” was a title rather than a name, as the leader of the Senones that sacked Rome in 387-386 BCE was also called Brennus.
Fleeing Celts, temple of Civitalba.
Fleeing Celts and a chariot, temple of Civitalba.
The emperor Augustus.
The brochure of the museum that the staff had given us when we bought our tickets featured a picture of a marble head of the emperor Augustus. We found this head not far from the frieze. It was once part of a statue of this emperor, who ruled over the immense Roman Empire between 27 BCE and his death in 14 CE. The head closely resembled the statue of the emperor as pontifex maximus which can be admired in the Palazzo Massimo in Rome. The Augustus of Ancona also has his head partly covered, but this Augustus is clearly older than the Augustus in Rome. The marble head was discovered in 1863 underneath the Palazzo Feretti. In Antiquity this was where the Roman forum of Ancona was situated.
The museum furthermore possesses a number of gorgeous mosaics from Ancona and the surrounding area. The oldest and most interesting mosaic features a boar hunt. It dates from the second or early first century BCE and was found in Pollenza, which lies about 40 kilometres south of Ancona. Somewhat younger are a floor mosaic from Macerata from the second century (on which visitors are allowed to walk) and a mosaic with the head of the sea god Oceanus, found in Ancona itself. This latter mosaic is apparently difficult to date: the information panel reports that it was made in the “second century or late third or early fourth century”. A mosaic from the second century featuring birds and fish completes the mosaic collection. See the photos below.
In addition to the collection of mosaics the museum also has a collection of sarcophagi. The so-called sarcophagus of the wine trader (del vinaio) dates from the third century. The name derives from the central scene of the object. We see a wine trader and a customer on either side of two wooden barrels of wine. The image is historically important, as in the Roman world wine was usually kept in terracotta amphorae. The deities on the outer ends of the sarcophagus are Bacchus (left) and Mercury (right). The coffin was found in 1925-1930 below the church of Santa Maria di Piazza. A real curiosity is a sarcophagus that possibly also dates from the third century: it has a lead pipe for libations (i.e. the pouring of wine, milk or honey). Slightly older is a sarcophagus of ca. 150-160, found in Rome, with scenes from the story of Medea, who murdered her children.
Sarcophagus of the wine trader.
Sarcophagus with a lead pipe.
Sarcophagus with scenes from the story of Medea.
What the archaeological museum does not have, are the so-called Bronzi Dorati, four statues of gilded bronze which were found in 1946 in 318 pieces by two farmers from Cartoceto, a village just north of Pergola. When the pieces had been reassembled, two Roman men on horseback and two Roman women on foot emerged, albeit only partially. The restored statues could be admired in the museum in Ancona between 1959 and 1972, but as was already mentioned the museum closed its doors in the latter year due to earthquake damage. In 1988 the statues, which by now had undergone a second restoration, were lent to Pergola, the municipality where they had been found. It was the intention to have them returned to Ancona after a temporary exhibition, but it very much looks like that has never happened. A compromise that stipulated that the statues would rotate between Pergola and Ancona never seems to have been put into practice. As a consequence the original Bronzi Dorati can currently be admired in a museum in Pergola that was largely purpose-built for them, while in Ancona there is a copy of the statues on the roof of the archaeological museum.
Copy of the Bronzi Dorati in Ancona.
Note
[1] Bradt travel guide Umbria & the Marche (2021), p. 226.