National Archaeological Museum of the Marche

Located in the 16th-century Palazzo Ferretti, the museum displays artifacts from the Paleolithic to Roman periods, including the Frasassi Venus and Picenian civilization items.

Planning your visit

The Marche region holds one of the more interesting archaeological stories in Italy, and this museum in Ancona's sixteenth-century Palazzo Ferretti tells it. Before Rome, the region belonged to the Piceni — an Italic people with a distinctive culture, elaborate warrior burials, bronze ornaments and a taste for imported Greek goods — and the museum's Picenian holdings are the finest anywhere.

Alongside them sit prehistoric material including the Frasassi Venus, a palaeolithic figurine from the caves inland; objects from the Gallic Senones who settled the coast; Greek and Hellenistic imports reflecting Adriatic trade; and Roman material from the colony Ancona became.

The palazzo has frescoed rooms by Federico Zuccari that survive from its residential period.

Ancona is a working port with ferries to Croatia and Greece, and it receives comparatively few visitors, so the museum is quiet.

Bookable options include private guided tours. Current availability is shown below.