Museo archeologico nazionale di Ferrara
State museum in the Palazzo Costabili with finds from the Etruscan city of Spina, including one of the largest collections of Attic red-figure vases.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum opened in 1935 and displays materials from Spina, an Etruscan city and an important trading centre of the ancient world between the mid-6th and the early 3rd century BC. It is housed in the Palazzo Costabili, known as the palace of Ludovico il Moro, a 16th-century building designed by Biagio Rossetti and decorated with frescoes by Garofalo and his school, restored to its former splendour.
On the ground floor the route presents daily life, productive activities, cults, writing and the languages of the various peoples who lived in Spina, describing it as a multicultural centre. On the piano nobile, the rooms are devoted to the necropolis, which has yielded more than 4,000 burials, both inhumations and cremations: the grave goods show the economic relations with the Greek and Italic worlds and the strong presence of Hellenic customs.
The oldest burials have yielded Attic pottery in extraordinary quantity, first black-figure and then red-figure, and the museum holds one of the largest collections of these vases in the world. Highlights include the Sala degli Ori, with gold and amber ornaments, the two large dugout canoes of the late Roman period, and the Sala del Tesoro, with its ceiling frescoed by Garofalo at the beginning of the 16th century. The visit concludes in the large Neo-Renaissance garden, with a rose gallery, a labyrinth and many tree species. The displays are enriched with multimedia projections, films and digital screens.
Highlights
- Finds from the Etruscan city of Spina
- One of the largest collections of Attic red-figure vases
- Sala degli Ori with gold and amber ornaments
- Ceiling frescoed by Garofalo in the Sala del Tesoro
- Two dugout canoes of the late Roman period
- Neo-Renaissance garden with a labyrinth
Permanent exhibition
- Percorso permanente: Spina e la necropoli – Finds from the Etruscan city of Spina: daily life, cults, writing, grave goods, Sala degli Ori and Sala del Tesoro.
- Founded
- 1935
- Operated by
- Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Emilia-Romagna
- Visitors per year
- approx. 27,636
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €6 |
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| Reduced | €2young people aged 18 to 25 (reduced ticket) |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 17 · Free admission for under-18s. |
| Garden only (reduced) | €1 |
Free admission: Every first Sunday of the month and on some special days (for example 23 April, 25 April, 2 June and 4 November).
Further concessions and free admission are provided for the categories set out in the rules for state museums. Tickets can also be bought online via the Musei Italiani portal.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The website of the regional directorate states “accessi facilitati” (facilitated access).
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum has a room for lectures and conferences.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | Group and school visits require telephone booking (+39 0532 66299). |
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