Il MUV – Museum and Documentation Center of the Villanovan Civilization, housed in the former barn of the rural complex of Casa Sant’Anna in Villanova di Castenaso, stands exactly where, between 1853 and 1856, the Bolognese archaeologist Count Giovanni Gozzadini discovered and identified traces of the oldest phase of Etruscan civilization, developed between the early 1st millennium BC (Iron Age) and the last decades of the 8th century BC, until then unknown in Italy, to which Gozzadini himself decided to give the name “Villanovian”.
Il MUV displays important artifacts from excavations found in Marano di Castenaso: among these are the funerary furnishings of numerous tombs, surely of aristocrats, given the particular richness of the artifacts and the presence of many warriors.
The museum has an exhibition path dedicated to the stelae that constituted the monumental equipment of the Marano necropolis. These are 8 funerary markers in sandstone and limestone, some of which, attributable to the class of “Proto-Felsinean Stelae,” have a rectangular shape with an overlying disk and feature complex figured decoration in bas-relief.
Of enormous value is the “Sword Stelae” which has no comparison with other Villanovan stelae found: it depicts a duel between two warriors and is surmounted by a lion and other geometric figures.
Inside the exhibit, sounds, video installations and interactive stations accompany the public in the life and rituals of the Villanovan civilization.
Since May 2013, the MUV has been enriched with materials from the funerary equipment belonging to tombs 1, 7, 8 and 9 of the Orientalizing necropolis of Marano.
Information about Muv – Museum of the Villanovan Civilization
Via Tosarelli , 191
Castenaso (Bologna)
051 780021
muv@comune.castenaso.bo.it
Tuesday 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Friday 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM Saturday 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM opening on request Tuesday 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Free admission Guided tour with fee
Source: MIBACT
