Museo Sannitico
Archaeological museum in the Palazzo Mazzarotta in Campobasso, with finds from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages and a large collection of votive statuettes of Hercules.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museo Sannitico in Campobasso opened in 1881 as the “Museo provinciale sannitico”, a few years after Italian unification, and shared the Prefecture building with the Pasquale Albino Provincial Library. Until the 1990s it changed location several times, and some objects were lost in the moves. After about twenty years of closure it reopened in 1995 in the 16th-century Palazzo Mazzarotta, in the historic centre of the city.
The collections combine the 19th-century provincial collection with finds from recent excavations in the province of Campobasso. The route is organised by period and by theme: on the ground floor, the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, with weapons of the Final Bronze Age and amber jewellery; on the first floor, the Samnites, their sanctuaries, trade and tombs, with a large collection of votive statuettes of Hercules.
On the second floor the Romanisation of the Samnium is illustrated, with materials from the Roman city of Sepino, and the early medieval tombs of Bulgarian horsemen from the Bojano plain, including the reconstruction of a warrior’s burial with horse harness decorated in silver; a small section is devoted to late medieval ceramics. Since 2014 the museum has been run by the Ministry of Culture, and since 2019 through the Direzione regionale Musei del Molise.
Highlights
- Bronze votive statuettes of Hercules
- Samnite helmets and kraters
- Weapons of the Final Bronze Age and amber jewellery of the Early Iron Age
- Materials from the Roman city of Sepino
- Reconstructed tomb of a Bulgarian horseman with silver horse harness
Permanent exhibition
- Percorso espositivo permanente – Finds from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages, arranged by period and theme, with sections on the Samnites, Sepino and the Bulgarian horsemen.
- Founded
- 1881
- Operated by
- Direzione regionale Musei del Molise (Ministero della Cultura)
- Visitors per year
- approx. 8,020
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €6 |
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| Reduced | €2 |
Free admission: First Sunday of the month (free admission to state museums).
Rates as listed by Museionline (updated April 2024).
Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | A 360-degree virtual tour is available on the Molise Virtuale portal. |
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