Museum
National Archaeological Museum
Aquileia · Friuli-Venezia Giulia
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Museum
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- REGION
- Aquileia · Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- DURATION
- 1 day
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Set in avilla garden at the edge of the ruins, the National Archaeological Museum reassembles the mobile wealth of the dead city: portrait statues of emperors and citizens, funerary stele carved with portraits of the dead at table, amber jewellery traded from the Baltic, engraved gems and the most important collection of ancient glass in northern Italy — the fragile painted cups and vases that Aquileia’s glassmakers exported across the empire. The lapidarium courtyard stacks inscriptions and tombstones, and the naval section displays the remains of a Roman river vessel.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
The museum was founded in the 19th century around the collections of the local Brion family and state excavations; it occupies the site of a Roman suburb necropolis, and its garden of tombstones is effectively the city’s cemetery-of-record for five centuries. Its glass collection documents Aquileia’s role as the glassmaking capital of the early empire — the workshop technology that later made Venice famous was, in part, born here.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The ancient glass collection — the finest in northern Italy.
The funerary stele of the “dirty floor” mosaic and banquet portraits.
The lapidarium courtyard of inscriptions and tombstones.
The Roman river barge in the naval section.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
The ruins of Aquileia are mostly walls; the museum is where the city’s daily life — its tables, its jewellery, its exports — becomes visible.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
National Archaeological Museum
National Archaeological Museum, Aquileia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
45.7696, 13.3695
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Aquileia
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Ristorante Ai Gladiatori — the classic, beside the museum: river fish and Friulian classics
Locanda dei Longobardi — family trattoria a few steps from the basilica
Enoteca AliJba — wine bar on the square for aperitivo with Collio glasses
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Village guesthouses and B&Bs around the basilica square
Camping: the municipal camper stop beside the excavations (€10, all year) or the Grado lagoon campsites — Tenuta Primero and Marina Julia — 15 minutes away with direct cycle-path links
ITINERARIES
Day-by-day routes
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
PART OF
Keep exploring
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