Museo dei gladiatori

About the museum

The Museo dei Gladiatori opened in 2003 beside the Anfiteatro campano, the second largest amphitheatre of antiquity after the Colosseum. It was the first place where the surviving decorative elements of the building were presented to the public: reliefs, keystones and inscriptions, stylistically dated to the age of Hadrian.

The route is arranged in three rooms. The first contains the inscriptions dedicated to the emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, a model of the original structure of the amphitheatre and three keystones with heads of deities, together with a cast of the bust of the river god Volturnus. The second houses a reconstruction of a vomitorium with tiered seating, the relief with magistrates and lictors entering the arena, balustrades with wild animals and mythological scenes such as the labours of Hercules. The third presents a mechanical model of a gladiatorial combat.

The museum also recalls the gladiatorial school of Capua, one of the most celebrated in the Roman world. It is part of the Antica Capua circuit, together with the amphitheatre, the Museo archeologico nazionale and the Mithraeum.

Highlights

• Inscriptions dedicated to Hadrian and Antoninus Pius
• Model of the original amphitheatre
• Reconstruction of a vomitorium
• Reliefs with animals and mythological scenes
• Mechanical model of a gladiatorial combat

Permanent exhibition

• Sale dell'anfiteatro campano – Three rooms with inscriptions, reliefs, a model of the amphitheatre, a reconstruction of a vomitorium and a mechanical model of a combat.

Founded

2003

Operated by

Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Campania

Admission & discounts

The €6 ticket is a single ticket for the circuit and is also valid for the Anfiteatro campano, the Museo archeologico nazionale dell’antica Capua and the Mithraeum. It can be bought online (website and the Musei Italiani app) or at the automatic ticket machine in Piazza I Ottobre.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is beside the Anfiteatro campano; the automatic ticket machine is in Piazza I Ottobre.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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