How many things can be hidden in the folds of your toga? Treasure all the anecdotes, curiosities and insights collected in this column, carry them "in your pocket" and, if necessary, take them out to amaze everyone with your knowledge!

In the Folds of the Toga

No rules, just one truth: art is for everyone! 
Join our art club and satiate your hunger for culture, (but be careful, it could cause Independence)!

Art Without Rules

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Hidden artworks in Disney classics

Altamura is located inland in the province of Bari and is a part of the Gal Terre di Murgia. More than 12,000 hectares of its territory are included in the Alta Murgia National Park. The city of Altamura has many peculiarities that make it well-known and a destination for visitors. Above all, it is known for its archaeological heritage and the architectural beauties of its historic centre. Over time, the sweet and rich territory has favored the development of a flourishing agriculture particularly dedicated to the cultivation of cereals, alongside which the grain processing industry has developed, with the production of different types of semolina and flours that led to the famous bread of Altamura. Food, history, and culture intertwine right here!


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What to see in Altamura

Altamura

The National Archaeological Museum of Altamura stands out for its representation of the population of Alta Murgia, in a synthesis of the Peucezi civilization up to the innermost territories, towards Basilicata and the Ionian arc.


Visit it together with an **expert guide** , who will be able to show you the wonders of this place!


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Altamura National Archaeological Museum Guided Tour

Guided Tour

The National Archaeological Museum of Altamura was created with the aim of collecting and exhibiting all the finds from the Alta Murgia territory, from the prehistoric to the early medieval age. 

**A varied collection** 

The exhibition represents the population of the **Alta Murgia** and  is a synthesis of the Peucezi civilization up to the innermost territories, towards Basilicata and the Ionian arc. During a series of excavation campaigns, starting immediately after the war and during the years of reconstruction, exactly in the area where the Museum stands today, a segment of the Peucetian settlement was brought to light. In the locality **La Croce** in fact, an area of great importance, rich in testimonies from the Bronze Age to the advanced Hellenistic age, archaeological investigations have been conducted since the sixties of the twentieth century, which led to the decision to locate the nascent museum structure right on the archaeological area.
 
The **exhibition itinerary**  develops favoring the chronological aspect, with a visit itinerary divided into sections arranged on two floors; on the **first floor** of the  museum the exhibition tells of the civilizations that succeeded in Alta Murgia, from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, with materials from settlements and necropolis of the surrounding area. Ample space is currently reserved for the exhibition Prehistory of food. At the origins of bread, born from the desire to recreate the strong link with the agricultural vocation of the territory. The **second floor** is instead entirely dedicated to the European Paleolithic with specific insights on central-southern Italy.

 
**The Man of Altamura**

Following the acquisition of the collection preserved in the then Municipal Museum by the Archaeological Superintendence of Puglia, starting from 1987 an intense phase of reconnaissance, restoration and cataloging of the finds was started. Only a few years later, in **1993**  coinciding with the great discovery of the **Man of Altamura**, the Museum was opened to the public for the first time with an exhibition dedicated to the extraordinary discovery of the **Neanderthal**.
Set in the karst formations of the **cave of Lamalunga**, the skeleton of this man who lived between 180 and 130,000 years ago was in perfect condition. To make the cave his burial place was an unfortunate **hunting accident**:  it is likely that the man stumbled and then fell into one of the numerous karst wells, with the injuries caused that prevented him from going back up.

The discovery of the Man of Altamura has certainly allowed us to acquire information on the **Neanderthal society** and  their relationships with different species and populations, while the combination of molecular and morphological studies has allowed us to reconstruct the structure and physical appearance of this primordial citizen of Altamura.
 
**Walking among the finds**

Among the valuable exhibits on display in the museum, we note the **worked bone handle**,  which presumably had the function of a handle for a dagger, part of the trousseau of an individual placed in a cave tomb of **Casal Sabini**, a town a few kilometers from the town of Altamura. Of great value is the **lid of red-figure Apulian pyx**, datable to the second half of the **IV century BC**  and attributed to the workshop of the **Painter of Darius**, one of the most important ceramographers of this era. On it is depicted a scene probably inspired by the tragedy Hippolytus by Euripides, of which the protagonist is **Phaedra**, mourning the death of Hippolytus.

The rich archaeological documentation of the **classical – Hellenistic age**  cannot ignore the extraordinary outfit of the so-called **Agip Tomb, discovered in 1974** and characterized by a conspicuous quantity of objects, some very incomplete, including numerous **red-figure vases**, followed by a conspicuous nucleus of silver vases and numerous clay figurines depicting Nike, Aphrodite and Eros**. Above all stands out the **large crater with monumental volutes**, found in fragments and attributed to the Painter of Darius, which according to some represents the clash between Alexander the Great on horseback and the Persian king Darius fleeing on the quadriga, which took place in **Gaugamela in 331 BC**. A prominent place certainly assumes the **pendant in the shape of a cross** of the  late – ancient era, which testifies to the profound influence of oriental cultures between the sixth and seventh centuries AD even in a rural context like Belmonte, from which the precious object comes.


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Altamura National Archaeological Museum

A museum to bring them all together


The National Archaeological Museum of Altamura was born from the desire to reunify and exhibit the numerous archaeological testimonies found throughout the territory, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, through an educational set-up, agile, compliant with scientific dissemination and effective in communication intended for a diversified audience of visitors.


What to see in Altamura

Altamura

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