Museo di archeologia dell'Università di Catania

About the museum

The museum grew out of the archaeological collections of the University of Catania, whose oldest core dates from 1898, when Paolo Orsi donated some finds from Megara Iblea to the university. During the twentieth century the collections grew thanks to purchases by Guido Libertini, who in the 1920s gathered material from various periods and left it to the university after 1953, together with his library.

The collections also include plaster casts of ancient sculpture and a numismatic collection. The current display opened on 17 October 2015 on the ground floor of Palazzo Ingrassia, a nineteenth-century building that once housed the Institute of Anatomy and now belongs to the Department of Humanities.

The museum is run by Officine Culturali in cooperation with the university and is also used for student training. The route unfolds through five rooms in chronological order, from prehistory to late antiquity, and ends with the room of the forgeries from Centuripe.

Highlights

• Finds donated by Paolo Orsi from Megara Iblea
• Archaeological collection of Guido Libertini
• Model of a boat with oarsmen
• Bronze sistrum
• Room of the 78 forgeries from Centuripe

Permanent exhibitions

• Percorso cronologico dalla preistoria alla tarda antichità – Five rooms with around 300 finds covering almost five thousand years, from the Libertini collection to the material donated by Orsi.
• Falsi di Centuripe – Last room of the route, with 78 forgeries made in Centuripe that can deceive even experts.

Founded

2015

Operated by

Università degli Studi di Catania – gestione Officine Culturali

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Self-guided visits during opening hours are free. The guided tour costs €5 (standard), with reduced rates of €3 and €2.50. Free with MonasteroCard. Guided tours for groups of at least 10 people.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• 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 museum is on the ground floor and is declared accessible to people with mobility impairments.

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 hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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