Verona's former Habsburg prison becomes National Archaeological Museum

The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Verona has opened in a former prison building constructed in 1856 during the Habsburg era, adjacent to the Church of San Tomaso. The Ministry of Culture invested over €3 million to restore the three-story structure into a cutting-edge museum. The first section open to the public covers prehistory and protohistory, while a Roman section is planned soon, and ground-floor works funded by PNRR will complete the museum. The exhibition design is by architect Chiara Matteazzi, with scientific direction by Federica Gonzato. The route begins in the attic with Prehistory and Protohistory, continues on the middle floor with Celtic and Roman artifacts, offices, library, and meeting spaces, and will eventually house early medieval works on the ground floor. Collaborators include the University of Ferrara, University of Trento, and the Soprintendenza SABAP di Verona. Highlights include the "Sciamano" (Shaman), a painted limestone figure from Grotta di Fumane dated to 40,000 BP (Upper Paleolithic), considered one of the oldest therianthropic representations in the world. Other notable artifacts: a multiple-mouthed vase from the Early Bronze Age found at Palafitta del Laghetto del Frassino near Peschiera del Garda; and folded swords, spearheads, daggers from Pila del Brancon in Nogara, dating to the early Late Bronze Age. The museum houses artifacts spanning 200,000 years ago to the 1st century BCE.