Museo dell’Uomo di Altamura

About the museum

The Museo dell’Uomo di Altamura is housed in Palazzo Baldassarre, in the historic centre of Altamura, a civil building of 16th–17th-century layout, probably built between the late 16th and the early 17th century by the Baldassarre family, master masons and later building contractors. The palazzo remained in the family until the second half of the 20th century; by then very run-down, it was bought by the Comune di Altamura in 1976.

Between 2006 and 2013 the Comune carried out a recovery, consolidation and renovation project aimed at turning the palazzo into a museum of the Uomo di Lamalunga (Man of Lamalunga), completed between 2015 and 2016 with the displays for virtual access. The palazzo is part of the Rete museale Uomo di Altamura, together with the Centro visite Lamalunga and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

The exhibition is devoted to the biological evolution of humans and to the geological and climatic factors behind hominisation, with information panels and replicas of the main palaeoanthropological finds. Of particular importance is the Altamura fossil, one of the most important Neanderthal remains, discovered in 1993 by cavers in the Grotta di Lamalunga: on display are the 1:1 reproduction of the so-called apse that contains the skeleton and the results of interdisciplinary studies. Other sections deal with karst, the geology of the area, fossils and dinosaurs.

Highlights

• 1:1 reproduction of the apse of the Grotta di Lamalunga with the Neanderthal skeleton
• Route on the biological evolution of humans with replicas of palaeoanthropological finds
• Sections on karst, the geology of the area, fossils and dinosaurs
• Palazzo Baldassarre, a civil building of the 16th–17th centuries
• Information point on the Rete museale Uomo di Altamura

Permanent exhibition

• Evoluzione dell’uomo e Uomo di Altamura – Route with panels and replicas on human evolution, karst and geology, including the reproduction of the apse of the Grotta di Lamalunga.

Operated by

Comune di Altamura

Admission & discounts

Admission is also free for European Union tourist guides and interpreters, ICOM members, school classes accompanied by teachers (with prior booking), teachers and students of degree courses in archaeology and art history, teachers and students of fine arts academies, staff of the Comune di Altamura and teachers at Italian schools. The same price list applies to the Centro visite Lamalunga.

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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