Castello dei Paleologi e Museo Archeologico

via Morelli, 2 - 15011 Acqui Terme (AL)
https://www.acquimusei.it/
Tel. +39 0144.575.55
E-mail: info@acquimusei.it
http://www.acquimusei.it

The castle of the Paleologi (second half of the 15th century), historic residence of the Marquises of Monferrato, houses the Civic Archaeological Museum. This is one of the oldest buildings in the area and legend has it that it existed in late Roman times before its destruction by the Huns in 452AD. It was rebuilt in the medieval period as a temporary seat of power and residence of the count-bishop. In the siege by Charles I of Anjou it was partially destroyed and came under the control of the Aleramici dynasty. In 1430, the town and castle of Acqui Terme were conquered by the Sforza and with the return of the Marquises of Monferrato the castle was reconstructed to make it a military stronghold that was to suffer a Spanish siege in 1647 and then a French siege a hundred years later. Today, the castle is home to the town’s archaeological museum and the new layout allows visitors to view exhibits from prehistoric to medieval times. It was impossible to rebuild the castle as it used to be as the various sieges left the castle so severely damaged as to be almost in ruins. The exhibition is divided into three sections (pre-protohistoric age, roman age, and medieval period) with numerous finds that document the population history of the Acqui area. The first two rooms are dedicated to prehistory and to protohistory, with artifacts in chipped flint (Palaeolithic and Mesolithic: 120000-8000 years ago), polished green stone axes (Neolithic: 5750-3500 B.C.), ceramic finds and metal tools of the Bronze Age (2200-900 B.C.) and of the second Iron Age (475-173 B.C.); the latter illustrate the indigenous culture of the Liguri Statielli and the process of Romanization of the territory. The section related to the Roman period constitutes the most important part of the museum and illustrates the multiple aspects of the life of the ancient Aquae Statiellae (1st century B.C. - 3rd century A.D.). The rooms exhibit grave goods found along the road of the ancient via Aemilia Scauri: stone funerary steles and gravestones, like that of Caius Mettius, in which the deceased young man is portrayed with his parents; architectural decorations (capitals, antefixes, frames), mosaics, sculptures and frescoes from public buildings and private homes, as well as a selection of the scores of amphorae found in via Gramsci, which bear witness to the intensity of trade in the city. At the centre of the room dedicated to urban planning and architecture there is the reconstruction of the great fountain of Bollente, constructed in blocks of white marble, which was unearthed in the late 19th century. The late-antique and medieval period is illustrated by the funerary epigraph of a Christian magistrate (early 5th century A.D.), from the funeral kits from the Longobard period and from a selection of ceramics (13th century - 14th century) from the excavations recently conducted in the historic centre of Acqui Terme.