Archaeological Room

In this "Archaeological room" each item belonged to Ludovico Moscardo, whose portrait you can admire on the left. Despite not being an archaeologist, he was interested in discovering how men lived in the past. Therefore, he went to where archaeological excavation took place in order to find some objects for his own collection. In other instances, he acquired archaeological pieces in antique markets, as it was typical for the time. Among these, there are numerous versions of "Hercules," displayed inside the first central showcase. Of particular importance is the bronze skewer found in Ca' dei Cavri (Verona), dating back to the early 4th century B.C. Ludovico Moscardo, discoverer and first owner of the object, mentions it in his catalogue of 1672, describing it and faithfully reporting the Rhaetian inscription engraved on one side. Of singular beauty is the Peloponnesian kouros in bronze of the second half of the 6th century B.C.

If you look into the side showcase, you can see displayed common ceramics, such as olle and lanterns.

Among the glass items, the following stand out: a rare “lagoena,” with disc body in freely blown glass (northern Italy, first half of the 1st century BC); a mercurial bottle in blown glass in open mould, decorated by hand and inscribed on the bottom (Gaul, 1st-3th century AD); three large oval-shaped ollas in freely blown glass (northern Italy, 1st-2nd century AD) and two square-section ollas in blown glass in an open mould.