Museo archeologico nazionale d'Abruzzo - Villa Frigerj

The museum is located in Chieti, in an elegant neoclassical villa designed by the Neapolitan architect Errico Riccio, at the request of Baron Ferrante Frigerj, in 1830.The building stands on a small hill, originally a farmland owned by the Frigerj family, located outside the city walls, a short distance away from Porta S. Andrea, the southern access of the city, which no longer exists. At the top of the hill there is a breath- taking view and both the public gardens with the old town ‘s skyline and the majestic massif of the Majella mountain with the underlying valley, can be admired.It became a town property in 1864 and was turned into a school. In 1959, thanks to the interest of the then superintendent Valerio Cianfarani, it became a national archaeological museum and since 2014 it has been assigned to the Polo Museale dell’Abruzzo.On the outside the visitor can see the cladding of the façades, made of smooth brick rustication at the ground floor and of simple bricks in the remaining levels. The main façade, facing the old town, is surmounted by a small temple.Once inside the visitor can see the most important Abruzzi archaeological collection through the new museum itinerary, created in 2011 and improved in 2014 with exhibition criteria that emphasize the ethnic and topographical aspects of the ancient populations of this region. On the ground floor there are ancient sculptures and, in particular, the well-known Guerriero di Capestrano (the Capestrano Warrior), a masterpiece dated 6th century B.C. “Al di là del tempo” (“Beyond Time”), is a room exhibition for this Warrior created by the artist Mimmo Palladino He stated : “I wanted to almost purify the Warrior from its historical and chronological context. The beholder has to feel emotions that go beyond its timeline”. There is also a rich numismatic section and the Pansa collection, with various objects of the 18th century.On the second floor, are the findings recovered from important archaeological sites in Abruzzo - mainly necropolis and sanctuaries - dated between the proto-historic and the high-medieval era; the culture of ancient Abruzzi populations as the Vestini, the Peligni, the Marrucini and the Carracini. The monumental staircase, takes the visitor back to the ground floor to discover the artifacts made by the Sabini, the Frentani, the Equi and the Marsi populations. The museum offers the possibility to see and consult the Archaeological Library containing more than 13,000 books.