The Museum was established on October 11, 1973. The exhibition space is currently located on the second floor of the former Monastery of S. Croce, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, which combines three structures: the Church of the Annunziata, the Monastery of the Friars Minor, and the Convent of the Poor Clares. On the first floor of the monumental complex is the Municipal Library “Mons. P. Sarnelli” and the Municipal Historical Archive. The Museum mainly consists of artifacts from the following archaeological areas: Mastrodonato Caves, Santa Croce Caves, and the Bisceglie hinterland characterized by the presence of Dolmen. The ancient prehistoric settlements were accidentally discovered by Francesco S. Maiellaro, a scholar and enthusiast, to whom the Museum is dedicated. The exhibition route is divided into sections relating to Prehistoric sites from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. The section dedicated to the Neolithic also refers to the discovery in the Santa Croce Cave of the “mat made of plant fibers” dating back 6,500 years. The display also includes the funerary equipment from the Frisari Dolmen, various types of amphora fragments found in the waters of the Salsello coast, a Roman cinerary urn dating back to the 1st century AD, and inscriptions from the 3rd century BC.
Information on the Civic Archaeological Museum “F. Saverio Maiellaro”
Via Frisari “Former Monastery of Santa Croce”, 5
70052 Bisceglie (Barletta-Andria-Trani)
(+39) 080.3957576
biblioteca@comune.bisceglie.ba.it
https://www.comunebisceglie.bt.it
Source: MIBACT
