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Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto

National Archaeological Museum of Taranto

Gold of Taras, Greek jewelry unmatched, Magna Graecia masterworks, athlete's tomb.

Photograph · Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto

At a glance

National Archaeological Museum of Taranto facts that matter

Names, makers, dates, and context before the story opens up.

Italian nameMuseo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto
What it isMuseum
WhereTaranto, Puglia
Known forGold of Taras, Greek jewelry unmatched, Magna Graecia masterworks, athlete's tomb

The story

What you're looking at

Greek Taras was the richest city of Magna Graecia, and its goldsmiths' work fills MArTA's cases with earrings and diadems no one has bettered since. The athlete buried with his prize amphorae is displayed as he was found.

Verified details

Each statement below is linked to the record or institution that supports it.

MArTA is the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto, Italy’s national archaeological museum in Taranto. Its English display name may be ‘National Archaeological Museum of Taranto’, but the institutional Italian name and acronym should remain visible.1,2

The museum was established in 1887 and has occupied the former Convent of the Alcantarini Friars, also called San Pasquale, since its origins. The eighteenth-century building and the museum institution are related but not the same historical entity.1

MArTA’s collection routes span Puglia’s prehistory and protohistory, Taranto from its Greek foundation through Roman, late-antique and medieval periods, and the Ricciardi collection. This is a chronological and contextual museum framework—not proof that every object is on permanent display or originated in Taranto.3,2

The museum building has been repeatedly altered: the Ministry records façade reconstruction from 1903, a northern wing built in 1935–41, and a renovation/reinstallation process from 1998 that culminated in the second-floor installation in July 2016. Its present museum experience is therefore a layered adaptation, not a static historic shell.2,1

Sources and citations (3)
  1. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto — MArTALa Storia del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di TarantoInstitutional headingRead source
  2. Ministero della CulturaMuseo archeologico nazionale di Taranto — MArTAPlace recordRead source
  3. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto — MArTAPercorsi e CollezioniCollection pathsRead source

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