Antiquarium in Sestino

The Stone Archive preserves and recounts the Roman origins of the village

The national Antiquarium of Sestino is an archaeological museum that has many traces of the great past of this land. Here you can see the discoveries that were excavated from an ancient Roman colony called Sestinum.

The museum’s collection is full of mementos of the grandiose era of the village, with traces of public and private buildings, a forum, a temple and a domus, all dating from the period between the 3rd century B.C. and the 1st century A.D.

It’s amazing to see that in a village as small as Sestino, there once was a thriving city. There was a great mix of cultures among the Umbrians, the Picenes and later the Etruscans and it became an important commercial hub during the Roman Empire.

Many crossroads of history and stories are chronicled in this collection, also called the “Stone Archive” due to its large number of stone artifacts. 

At the National Antiquarium of Sestino you can admire many sculptures: a colossal head of the Emperor Augustus, an Aphrodite, a bas-relief depicting a scene of the martyrdom of Christians, a statue of a young boy and a temple with Corinthian columns: a circular funerary monument in Hellenistic style, decorated with embossed heads.

There are many artifacts attributed to the most powerful family of the time, the Volusenii family from Sestino, who were perhaps of Etruscan origins.

There are not only traces of the public life of the times, but also of the private lives as well and found in several household objects. The most curious artifact is a “glirarium,” a large terra cotta pot, also referred to as a “dormouse fattener,” used for raising the small animals as the main ingredient for a heavy, delicious dish served at ancient noble banquets.

This museum’s collection guides you on a journey through time to discover an ancient and little-known piece of history. It recounts the magnificent history of Roman Sestino.