The thousand-year-old story of the "New City" that pre-dates Rome
Located at the point where the Campania plain narrows between Vesuvius and the first peaks of the Apennines, Nola was built, destroyed, and rebuilt well before the establishment of Rome, with which it later forged a complex relationship of rivalry and friendship.
History of the Museum
Housed in a prestigious complex that was once the convent of the Canossian Sisters, the Museum was inaugurated in 2009 and since then has been offering its visitors a journey through the history of the Nola area from prehistory to the modern age.
Heritage
The visit begins with an exhibition of prehistoric finds that give evidence of the volcanic activities of Somma-Vesuvius, in particular the eruption of the "Pomici di Avellino" in the Bronze Age and the so-called Pollena eruption in the late ancient period.
Among the most interesting exhibits are the reconstructions of the physiognomic features of three individuals found in burials and the reconstruction of a hut, complete with furnishings and artefacts recovered intact.
The prehistoric section is followed by a section dedicated to the roots of Nola, covering a chronological span from the 8th to the 6th century BC.
This section contains examples of Greek-made pottery and gravestones from burial grounds with a clear Etruscan influence, dating from the end of the 7th to the beginning of the 6th century BC.
This is followed by the rooms dedicated to the period between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, where there are painted chest and semi-chamber tombs.
The tour continues with the most recent evidence of the Oscan presence, which covers a period from the Roman conquest of the city (313-312 BC) to the outbreak of the Social War (90-88 BC).
This is followed by the section dedicated to the period of Roman rule, with statues adorning some of the tombs, various burial and grave relics from the city's amphitheatre, as well as a series of epigraphic testimonies.
The tour continues on the first floor of the compound with displays of artefacts from the imperial age, until it reaches a room entirely dedicated to the so-called villa of Augustus, found in Somma Vesuviana.
The exhibition concludes with a section devoted to the end of the ancient world and the Middle Ages up to the modern period.
