Egnatia: thirty centuries of history
Inside and outside the rooms of the museum, strolling through the greenery of the Archaeological Park, the archaeological finds tell the story of Egnatia from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages in a narrative spanning thirty centuries!
Notices(7)
- ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OPENING HOURS
Please note that throughout the year, the Archaeological Park will observe the following weekly opening hours: 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM (last admission at 12:30 PM). The Museum, from Monday to Saturday, will be open from 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM (last admission at 6:30 PM).
- CLOSURE ON THE SECOND SUNDAY OF THE MONTH
Please note that the National Museum and Archaeological Park of Egnazia is closed to the public on the second Sunday of each month.
- THIRD AND FOURTH SUNDAY OPENING HOURS
Please note that on the third and fourth Sunday of each month, the Museum is open from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM (last admission at 12:30 PM), while the Park is open from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM (last admission at 12:30 PM).
- free admission
The first Sunday of each month access to all institutes and places of culture is free, including, in the absence of a separate exhibition itinerary or of a separate ticket, the spaces in which exhibitions or temporary exhibitions are held. Admission will also be free on the following days: 25th April; 2nd June; 4th November.
- Respect of the chosen entry time
We remind visitors that it is mandatory to show up at the site’s entrance exactly at the time chosen during the purchase.
- Medium and large sized animals
Medium and large sized animals are allowed only in the external archaeological area IF equipped with a leash and muzzle, always remaining next to their owners.
- SPECIAL OPENING AUGUST 12, 2025
On August 12, 2025, the National Archaeological Museum and Archaeological Park of Egnazia will be open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. (last admission at 10:30 p.m.).
By purchasing online you will have
Services(6)
- Audioguide
- Bookshop
- Disabled access
- Guided Tours
- Info Point
- Pets allowed with carrier
Reductions(6)
For REDUCED and FREE tickets, proof of the right to use these tickets will have to be shown. Where the visitor fails to produce such documentation at the ticket office, a FULL-PRICE ticket will have to be purchased.
Free
13types- •European Union tourist guides in the exercise of their professional activity, presenting a valid licence issued by the competent authority
- •Tour interpreters from the European Union working alongside the guide, upon presentation of a valid licence issued by the competent authority
- •To the staff of the Ministry of Culture
- •Members of I.C.O.M. (International Council of Museums)
- •Visitors under the age of eighteen. Under-twelves must be accompanied by an adult
- •To public and private school groups of the European Union alongside their teachers, subjected to booking and in the quota established by the head of the institution or cultural site.
- •Lecturers and students on degree courses, specialist degree courses or post-graduate specialisation and PhD courses in the following faculties: architecture, conservation of cultural heritage, education sciences or literature and philosophy with an archaeological or historical-artistic focus. The same benefits are due to teachers and students of corresponding universities or courses, present in the European Union States.
- •Teachers and students enrolled in Fine Arts Academies or corresponding institutes of the European Union, by showing their enrolment certificate for the current academic year
- •Teaching staff -permanent school or with a fixed-term contract- of the Italian school, upon presentation of a suitable certificate issued by the educational institutions. The certificate is annual and valid for the academic year in progress.
- •Disabled persons and one family member or companion who can show their membership to health and care services.
- •To the operators of voluntary associations who carry out, on the basis of existing agreements with the Ministry, activities to promote knowledge of cultural heritage.
- •Italian and foreign scholars for study or research purposes certified by Italian or foreign school or university institutions, academies, research and culture institutes as well as by the Ministry, for particular and justified needs, the Directors can allow individual subjects who request it free admission for specific periods.
- •Free entry to state cultural sites is permitted to teachers and students of AFAM (Higher Education in Art and Music) schools, upon presentation of the appropriate forms.
Reduced
2types- •EU citizens aged between 18 and 25 (the age limit is considered exceeded from the day following the completion of the 25th year of age).
- •To citizens of countries outside the European Union, on condition of reciprocity.
Museum Only
1Type- •Allows entry only to Egnazia National Archaeological Museum
Archaeological Park Only
1Type- •Allows entry only to Egnazia Archaeological Park
Puglia Museums Card
1Type- •The subscription is NAME-SPECIFIC. It allows unlimited admissions for 6 months in all the museums of the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia. The Taranto National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) is NOT included.
Museum Card
1Type- •The subscription is NAME-SPECIFIC. It allows unlimited entry for 6 months in ONE of the museums of the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia. Taranto National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) is NOT included.
Description
The Giuseppe Andreassi Museum
Named after the archaeologist Giuseppe Andreassi, who directed it from 1976 to 1985, the museum lies outside the 4th century B.C. defensive wall that encloses the area of the ancient city of Gnathia and dialogues with the archaeological area. The itinerary is divided into seven thematic areas that lead the visitor to discover the Bronze Age and the Lapygian settlement (the Lapygians were the ancient inhabitants of southern Apulia), the Roman and early Christian periods, the Longobard presence and the last traces of frequentation of the area.
A rich collection
Inside the rooms, you come across more than 3.000 artefacts from every period in which the centre was inhabited. From the Messapian period there are numerous exhibits of trozzella (small vases with a large belly, small foot and truncated neck, dating back to the 6th-3rd century B.C.), a symbol of this culture, characterised by decorative rowels on the handles. Alongside the valuable Apulian red-figure ceramics are numerous black-painted vases overpainted in Gnathia style. To the Roman period belong the splendid marble head of Attis (2nd century A.D.) with the typical Phrygian cap and the Mosaic of the Three Graces, from the Civil Basilica, created between the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Of exquisite workmanship is a precious gold ring with a bezel in the shape of a small temple, reminiscent of the edicule of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (late 6th - early 7th century A.D.), evidence of the transit of pilgrims during the Christian era.
The Egnatia Archaeological Park
Egnatia is the largest archaeological park in Apulia. In close contact with the museum, it houses architectural remains dating back to the Messapian period, such as the defensive walls and the necropolis with its monumental chamber tombs.
A visit to the ancient city takes in the remains of Roman and early Christian buildings. The paved urban section of the Via Traiana is clearly visible, dividing the space of public buildings from the residential and craft districts.
On the Via Traiana stand the market square, the amphitheatre, the sacred area dedicated to the worship of the oriental gods Attis and Cybele, the civil basilica, the baths and the cryptoporticus. Of later date are the imposing structures of the early Christian basilicas: the Southern Basilica and the Episcopal Basilica, erected on the Roman urban fabric.
A walk on the seabed
Thanks to a scenographic layout that seems to drag the visitor into the depths of the seabed, the new 'Egnatia and the Sea' section is a unique experience. Developed around physical artefacts, multimedia videos and the interactive projection of a body of water, the new wing of the Museum - inaugurated in 2022 - is dedicated to the city's relationship with the sea and to underwater archaeology as a tool for knowledge, capable of revealing the history of peoples through the recovery of objects that survived ancient shipwrecks.
Forecast
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