The Museo Provinciale Campano di Capua (commonly referred to as Museo Campano) is a provincial museum located in
Capua
Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...
, southern Italy. Established in 1870 and inaugurated in 1874, it is housed in the historic Palazzo Antignano. The museum is dedicated to ancient Italian civilization in
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
, and is home to an extensive collection of ritual statues representing ''matres matutae'' coming from the ancient Roman site of ''Capua antica''. It also hosts the second largest
lapidarium
A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited.
They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...
On August 21, 1869, a "''Committee for the conservation of monuments and objects of antiquity and fine arts''" founded by father Gabriele Iannelli was established by royal decree in what was then the region of
Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro (Liburia in Latin) is the name of a historical region of Southern Italy.Lombard origins date back to the IX century, but which was heavily altered in the mid-XV century) was chosen as the seat of the new museum, which opened to the public in 1874.Brief historical outline Museo Campano Capua. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
The museum was established for the purpose of properly preserving and displaying the large quantity of precious archaeological material that had been discovered in the region, especially thanks to the
excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
conducted on the many nearby
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...
s. The museum continued growing over time, and in 1933 the building was rearranged to adapt to the ever-expanding collections.
On September 9, 1943, an Allied air strike hit Capua, killing about a thousand people and destroying circa 75% of the buildings in the city, including Palazzo Antignano. Some important pieces of the collections were destroyed. Rebuilding of Palazzo Antignano started in 1945, and in 1956 the museum was reopened.
Palazzo Antignano
The palace was the home of the prominent Antignano family, which gained prominence under the rule of
Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...
.Cenni storici (in Italian), Comune di Capua. Retrieved March 14, 2020. In its present form the palace dates back to the XV century, but incorporates much older
spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...
such as
Longobard
The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and 796) t ...
capitals
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
and columns, as well as the remnants of the Longobard church of ''San Lorenzo ad Crucem'',
deconsecrated
Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...
in 1594. p. 160.
The façade features a Catalan Gothic portal and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
elements; inside, the main courtyard boasts a monumental open staircase.
Collections
Included in the collections housed on site are terracotta sculptures and adornments from the Mater Matuta temple near Capua recovered from the Fondo Paturelli estate.
The largest collection is that of the
Mater Matuta
Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora and the Greek dawn goddess Eos.
Mater Matuta was the goddess of female maturation, and later became linked to the dawn. Her cult i ...
statues; totaling over 160.
The collection includes the body of the 13th-century statue of
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman ...
once on the City Gate of Capua, an important monument. The head is now in Berlin.