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The Provincial Archaeological Museum is located in Potenza and preserves the archaeological finds found in Basilicata.

The Provincial Archaeological Museum is located in the Santa Maria district, in Via Ciccotti, in the city of Potenza, but also has a second entrance in Via Lazio, 18. From 2016 the manager is Ing. Enrico Spera [1].

The objective of the structure is mainly the protection, conservation and enhancement of the archaeological heritage of the Province of Potenza, but it also carries out numerous other functions: site of archaeological finds; point of reference for scholars and visitors; workshops of debates and discussions. In the Provincial Archaeological Museum there are also organized cultural activities and events, such as exhibitions, conferences, practical and creative workshops on archeology teaching, promoted by public and private entities.

The museum unveils the ancient face of Basilicata, through the finds from different areas of the region, in particular from the Metapontino, and dating back to the period between the Paleolithic and Roman ages. Among these are the bronze Corinthian helmet found in 1291 in Vaglio, figurines from Monticchio. The museum has hosted important exhibitions that have attracted a large audience such as the prestigious exhibitions of Carlo Levi, Giorgio De Chirico and Carlo Carrà who have reawakened their attention to the "culture pole" established by the Province of Potenza to promote and enhance works considered to have always been a common heritage and personal enrichment.

History of the Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum of Provincia di Potenza comes to life in 1901, thanks to the foresighted multifaceted intellectual Michele Lacava. In 1876 he becomes Inspector for the Metaponto excavations and feels the need to protect the archaeological finds from being moved to other Museums - e.g. Naples, Reggio Calabria, British Museum and Munich - and also from the rampant private collecting. In 1907 the Museum opens at S. Francesco Monastery and its director is Vittorio Di Cicco, who used to be Lacava’s coworker. Di Cicco enriches the collection with the finds from Garaguso and Latronico. He also makes the exhibition more organic and harmonic. In 1912 a fire destroys important finds and the Museum relocates first to Palazzo Arrigucci and then, in 1921, to the local mental home asylum building, in Rione Santa Maria. The building is part of the Ophelia project by engineer Giuseppe Quaroni and architect Marcello Piacentini. The Museum finally finds a steady place to be. Concetto Valente is appointed Museum director in 1928: he makes a new, more scientific arrangement and a better catalogue inspired by a chrono-typological criterion. The Museum becomes one of the most prestigious in Southern Italy. One more unfortunate event: the air raid of 1943 destroys the building. It takes thirteen years to open again and the new director, Francesco Ranaldi, is given the task to relaunch the Museum after the war. He starts to excavate in the area surrounding Potenza, discovers the Serra del Carpine necropolis near Cancellara, the Tuppo dei Sassi wall paintings near Filiano and begins to make excavations in the Atella basin in collaboration with prof. Edoardo Borzatti von Löwenstern from Florence University. Meanwhile, the Neapolitan architect Giovanni de Franciscis projects a purpose-designed building which is finished in 1979 and opens in May 1980. This year turns out to be very unfortunate: on the 23rd of November 1980 a huge earthquake doesn’t damage the Museum itself, but, as a result of the destruction of other buildings, the bureaus of Provincia di Potenza have to move to the undamaged Museum. 1997 is the year of its last and definitive inauguration. Since then it’s the core of the “Rete della Cultura”, a museum system also including Pinacoteca Provinciale and Covo degli Arditi.

Visitable runs

The exhibition of all the objects in the Museum extends over two floors, grouped in chronological and topographical sections. On the ground floor, as a part of the documentary exhibition “Antichidentità” it is possible to visit the pre-protohistoric section dedicated to Francesco Ranaldi, which includes the most significant findings from the excavations within the Atella Basin area, the Latronico caves, and Oliveto Lucano. The exhibition, opened on november, 27th, 2009, represents both a valid cultural and academic event, and a tribute to the important work of preservation carried out by our three “historical” directors: Vittorio Di Cicco, Concetto Valente, Francesco Ranaldi. On the first floor, visitors can enjoy items from the three great populations (Oenotrians, Greeks, Lucans) who lived throughout Basilicata from VIII b.C. and findings from the spreading of the Roman culture and civilization which took place from IV b.C and the first imperial age.

1.Antichidentità 2.Archeologia 3.Giuseppe Antonello Leone