History of the Museum
Stories buried and then discovered
From stone axes to iron swords, from Celtic bronze ornaments to Lombard gold crosses, from cinerary urns to Roman inscriptions and then pottery, glass, sculptures and mosaics… A journey through time on the traces that Celts, Romans and Lombards left in Bergamo and its territory.
The Museum hosts the finds coming from the Bergamo area and from the numerous excavations in the Upper Town, alongside important collections such as the Roman statues and the objects from ancient Egypt.
-
The origins of the Museum
The Civic Archaeological Museum originated from a decree of the Town’s Major Council, establishing that the local antique collections were to be set in the most honorable places: the ancient inscriptions were therefore displayed under the Palazzo della Ragione, in Piazza Vecchia.
May 1561
-
A new location for the collection
Due to the enlargement of the collection, the Council of Elders entrusted a group of local scholars with the task of designing a new location in a building to be erected above the Fontanone Visconteo. This building was completed about 30 years later.
1743
-
From the Museum to the Athenaeum
The collection was set up in the new building, which, however, in 1810 became the seat of the Athenaeum of Science, Humanities and Arts.
1770
-
The Vimercati Sozzi Collection
Count Paolo Vimercati Sozzi, who had collected many archaeological finds discovered all over the territory of Bergamo, donated to the city part of his rich collection.
1866
-
Mantovani and the “Notizie Archeologiche Bergomensi”
Professor Gaetano Mantovani, Royal Inspector of Excavation and Ancient Monuments for the provinces of Sermide, Bergamo and Treviglio, recovered the archaeological objects casually found in the Bergamo area and recorded their data in the journal Notizie Archeologiche Bergomensi, published until the year 1900. This collection was displayed for a short time in the hall of Angelo Mai Civic Library.
1880-1899
-
The reunited collections in the Rocca
The different collections were displayed together for the first time in the Rocca, but war events forced to move the objects to a safer place.
1933-1938
-
A new era in the Palazzo Visconteo
The Museum was rearranged in the 14th-century building Palazzo Visconteo in Cittadella, where it is still located. Here, modern museographic criteria had been respected, making the Archaeological Museum an important reference for Bergamo’s cultural framework.
1961-1962
-
A renewed Museum for a new story
The Museum reopens its doors, which have been closed for 2 years for restoration. The same location – in Piazza Cittadella – has been rearranged with new rooms on the first floor and more space for the most recent finds from the Bergamo area.
June 2023
In 1981, the educational vocation of the Museum led to the foundation of the Group of the Museum Guides – now called Centro Didattico-culturale del Museo Archeologico – which first started the activity with schools. A year later, also the Friends of the Archaeological Museum Association was founded, giving a valid support for the Museum with its activity of spreading archaeological culture.
Today the Museum offers educational services to schools and to adults and families, organizes exhibitions and conferences, carries out research and excavation activities and since 1993 has been publishing the scientific journal Notizie Archeologiche Bergomensi.
