Museo Civico Archeologico “Iulium Carnicum”, Zuglio

The Civic Archaeological Museum Iulium Carnicum is housed in the seventeenth-century Palazzo Tommasi Leschiutta, in the center of the Municipality, just a few steps from the remains of the Roman Forum. The exhibition develops over three floors and reconstructs the various settlement phases of the Carnic territory and Zuglio from prehistory to the Renaissance period. The ground floor is dedicated to Carnia and, in this regard, room 1 is of considerable interest, rearranged in 2004 thanks to the project “”The Celts in Friuli: archaeology, history and territory”” and dedicated to prehistory and protohistory. It contains the reconstruction of a section of the Necropolis of Misincinis of Paularo (8th-4th century BC) with bronze, iron, glass and amber goods, as well as various evidence of the presence of the ancient Venetians and the Celts. The first floor illustrates the various findings made in Zuglio in the area of the Forum, the Baths and private houses. Notable are the Pompeian frescoes that decorated the frigidarium room of the thermal complex, as well as the furnishings of some domus.

The top floor is finally dedicated to the commercial and religious life of the Roman city with a glance at the Parish of San Pietro, of which the furnishings of an early basilica dating from the 6th to the 9th century AD are preserved. Excavation campaigns begun in the early 1800s continue to this day thanks to the Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage of Friuli Venezia Giulia, engaged in agreement with the Municipality, in a vast plan to enhance the archaeological center. The latest investigations carried out in June 2011 have made it possible to investigate near the Forum other Roman-period structures, rediscovering among other things the triclinium of a domus first identified by Giovanni Gortani at the end of the 1800s, which features a mosaic floor with white and black geometric tiles. The structures are being enhanced. The Museum is part of CarniaMusei, the museum network of Carnia and the Museum network of the province of Udine.

Detailed opening hours info: