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The Oreste Nardini Archaeological Museum in Velletri: Four Hundred Artefacts from the City of the Volsci
The Oreste Nardini Archaeological Museum is housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Comunale of Velletri, in the heart of the Castelli Romani. On display are around four hundred artefacts recounting the story of the territory, from Protohistory to the Middle Ages: bronzes, inscriptions, sculptures, ceramics and sarcophagi from the ancient Volscian Velitrae and from the ensuing Roman colony.
The Sarcophagus of the Labours of Hercules
The most celebrated piece is the Velletri Sarcophagus, discovered in 1955 and dated to the 2nd century AD. With its 184 carved figures — the labours of Hercules, scenes from the underworld, Olympian deities — it is considered one of the masterpieces of Roman funerary sculpture. It can also be viewed from above, thanks to a viewing point on the second floor. Other notable works include the Lastra dell'Orante (Slab of the Praying Figure) from the 4th century, with biblical scenes, the terracotta architectural slabs from an Etruscan-Italic temple of the 6th century BC, and the Sarcofago della Civitana (Civitana Sarcophasus) from the 3rd century. In the entrance corridor is a copy of the Pallas of Velletri — the original is in the Louvre.
From Oreste Nardini to Today
The museum was founded in 1920 at the initiative of engineer Oreste Nardini, honorary inspector of excavations. After wartime losses and decades of closures, it reopened permanently in 1992. In 2004 it received the Quality Mark of the Lazio Region. The first nucleus of the collection dates to 1881, containing finds at the locality of Fosso del Metabo.
