The new Archaeological Museum has been open to the public since 2009 and is set in the picturesque church of San Lorenzo and annexed Meli chapel. The church, with a three-nave basilica layout, dates from the early thirteenth century and has typical Romanesque features such as the expansive arrangement of spaces and typical corbel decorations of the apse arches. Excavations inside have unearthed the remains of an earlier church, identified by a mention in by a parchment of 990, an early Christian cemetery building and a Roman necropolis from the first century BC. The dedication of the monumental complex as a museum has favoured its restoration and preservation, both from structural and decorative points of view. The Archaeological Museum is a development of the Archaeological Section of the Civic Museum, still in Palazzo Affaitati, which completes the exhibition. This section, through finds unearthed from the nineteenth century until the most recent excavations in the square of Piazza Marconi, gives a representation of Cremona since its Roman foundation in 218 BC as the first settlement north of the Po River. The city flourished until the year 69 AD, when it was devastated during the civil war that led to the imperial reign of Vespasian. It was subsequently rebuilt and participated in the construction and monumental renewal that affected much of northern Italy in the third century AD. Testimony of these events are approximately 500 objects displayed thematically in three sections. The first illustrates the public sphere, with monumental remains of the building located in the present-day street of Via Cesare Battisti, perhaps to be identified as a theatre. The second illustrates the private sphere, as testified by the rich domus of the Labyrinth and the Nymph, with exquisite mosaic floors and wall paintings of high artistic quality. Also shown, with the same thematic approach, are various contexts of daily life. The third section covers the burial grounds, represented by a funerary monument tombstone with portraits of the Arruntii family along with urns and ceramics, glass and bronze decorative funerary objects. The purposefully contemporary museum setting, in form and selection of materials, is noted for its strong visual impact that enhances the exhibits.
The Archaeological Museum is part of the City Museum System, which provides an educational service, a library and archives that can be consulted on appointment.
Tickets & times
Admission: 3 Euros
Open: from Tuesday to Friday, 9 am to 1 pm, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, 10 am to 5 pm.
Closed: Mondays and 1st January, 1st May, 25th December.
Historical site:
Ala Ponzone Civic Museum
Via Ugolani Dati, 4,
26100 Cremona.
Exhibition rooms: (+39) 0372 407770
Ticket office: (+39) 0372 31222
Secretary’s office: (+39) 0372 407269
Educational service: (+39) 0372 407764
Fax: (+39) 0372 407268
Tickets and times
Full: 7 Euros
Reduced: 4 Euros
Open: from Tuesday to Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm, Sundays and public holidays 10 am to 6 pm.
Closed: Mondays and 1st January, 1st May, 25th December.
Secretary’s office and educational service: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
Scopri le attività didattiche: Attività didattica - Museo Archeologico di Cremona - Cremona (CR)
