Civico Museo Archeologico Platina

About the museum

The museum was founded on 3 May 1957 under the name Antiquarium Platina, in honour of the humanist Bartolomeo Sacchi, known as Platina, and opened to the public on 20 October 1960 in part of the upper floor of the town hall. It was prompted by archaeological discoveries at Piadena and Calvatone in the late 1950s, whose finds formed the core of the collection. In 1964 the Collezione Locatelli arrived, with materials from the Late Bronze Age necropolis of Fontanella di Casalromano.

In the 1980s, with excavations in the area, the museum reached the size it kept until 2014. In 1996 the Roman room dedicated to Bedriacum was renewed, and from 2001 the museum was staffed by a professional archaeologist. In 2004 a large educational room opened, and the museum helped found the Ma-net network of archaeological museums.

With the support of the Fondazione Miryam e Pierluigi Vacchelli, a late 19th-century building on Piazza Garibaldi was restored and inaugurated as the new seat in February 2014. The prehistoric and protohistoric sections, the latter devoted to the Cremona area from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period, were re-laid out by 2015. The route also includes the Roman and medieval sections and illustrates the territory of Piadena.

Highlights

• Prehistoric, protohistoric, Roman and medieval sections
• Digital reconstructions of a Neolithic village and a lake-dwelling settlement
• Digital map of the landscape projected on the floor of the Sala del Territorio (Territory Room)
• Tactile route and hands-on stations in every room
• Audio guides in four languages, including with induction loop
• Collezione Locatelli and finds from the Calvatone excavations

Permanent exhibitions

• Sezione preistorica e protostorica – Finds from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age and from the Cremona area in the late protohistoric period, with digital reconstructions of a village and a lake-dwelling settlement.
• Sezione romana e medievale – Materials from the Roman period, including the room dedicated to Bedriacum, and evidence of the medieval settlement of Piadena.

Founded

1957

Operated by

Comune di Piadena Drizzona

Visitors per year

approx. 3,373

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of the month

Free admission also for children under 6, Parchicard holders, ICOM members and members of the association “Amici del Museo di Piadena” (Friends of the Piadena Museum).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

Lift between the two floors of the building. Induction-loop audio guides compatible with any hearing aid. Each room has a tactile station with replicas of finds and a tactile route. Simplified signage with PECS pictograms helps visitors with cognitive needs and children, and “Com’era/Com’è” (“how it was / how it is”) panels compare ancient objects and settings with modern ones.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

Tactile stations in every room, interactive digital reconstructions and routes for schools.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi throughout the museum. Backpacks, bags, umbrellas and bulky items can be left at the ticket office. Bookshop with postcards.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit