Museo d'Antichità J.J. Winckelmann

About the museum

The museum was founded in the 19th century to collect the antiquities of the city and its territory, and has since been enriched by private donations of finds from different civilisations. The idea of a lapidarium, which emerged at the beginning of the century thanks to the civic attorney Domenico Rossetti, centred on the monument in memory of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the founder of modern art history, who was murdered in Trieste in 1768. The neoclassical cenotaph, by Antonio Bosa, was inaugurated in 1833 on the San Giusto hill, in the area of the former city cemetery. The Orto Lapidario opened to the public in 1843, and the Museo di Antichità was officially established in 1873.

On the ground floor are the civic Egyptology collection, with almost a thousand pieces that arrived in the 19th and early 20th centuries through the port's trade, and the Roman materials from the territory of Tergeste (Trieste) and Aquileia, with Attic relief sarcophagi in the atrium. The first floor is devoted to the prehistory and protohistory of the Trieste Karst, eastern Istria and the Isonzo area. The second floor houses the Greek vases from the Fontana Sartorio collection, Cypriot and Taranto material, a silver rhyton with a fawn’s head from 400 BC, and the Maya room “Cesare Fabietti”.

The Orto Lapidario houses inscriptions, monuments and Roman sculptures from Aquileia and Istria, with the small temple that shelters Winckelmann’s cenotaph and the Greek sculptures of the Arcadi Sonziaci. Since 2000, the Roman finds from the city of Trieste have been displayed in the Lapidario Tergestino, in the Bastione Lalio of the Castello di San Giusto.

Highlights

• Egyptian collection with almost 1,000 pieces, mummies and sarcophagi
• Greek vases from the Fontana Sartorio collection and a silver rhyton from 400 BC
• Orto Lapidario with the cenotaph of J.J. Winckelmann
• Sala maya “Cesare Fabietti”
• Prehistory and protohistory of the Trieste Karst

Permanent exhibitions

• Collezione egizia – Civic Egyptology collection with statues, ushabti, amulets, papyri, sarcophagi and mummies.
• Orto Lapidario – Garden on the San Giusto hill with inscriptions, Roman monuments and sculptures, and the Winckelmann cenotaph.
• Vasi greci e sala maya – Corinthian, Attic, Apulian and Etruscan pottery, and a room dedicated to the pre-Columbian cultures of Central America.

Founded

1873

Operated by

Comune di Trieste – Civici Musei di Storia ed Arte

Visitors per year

approx. 58,543

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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 route from Piazza della Cattedrale to the entrance on Via della Cattedrale is steep, with uneven historic paving and six steps; the main entrance has a 4 cm step with no ramp. Visitors are advised to contact the museum to use the entrance at Via San Giusto 4, which can be reached by private vehicle. The displays are spread over several floors (basement, ground floor, first and second floors), connected by stairs with tactile markings and by a lift; there is an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Three disabled parking spaces are available in Piazza della Cattedrale, about 50 metres away. Accessibility of the content: partial for people with mobility or hearing impairments, none for people with visual impairments.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Educational visits for schools on the Egyptian collection and other themes, adaptable for adult groups and families.

Getting there & parking

Main entrance at Via della Cattedrale 15; second entrance at Via San Giusto 4.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check

Bar, bookshop and cloakroom.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit