The best way to find the National Archaeological Museum of the Marche Region is to walk through the oldest part of Ancona up to the area where the Roman forum once stood. No matter if this is a coincidence or not, one thing we know for sure is that the city environment embraces this national collection.

Located in the magnificent setting of the Ferretti Palace, the National Archaeological Museum of the Marche Region displays a rich collection of finds from the whole region, offering an extensive overview of the history of the Marche region from the Palaeolithic to Roman times. The Museum is on three floors, including the rich halls of the Renaissance Palace. Starting from the mezzanine on the second floor, you can admire finds from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age. The most important of these is the so-called Venus of Frassassi, a statuette representing a female figure dating back 28,000/25,000 years ago. The third floor holds the Picenum section with the rich objects found in the necropolis from the beginning of the Iron Age to the Orientalizing period. The exhibition continues on the first floor with finds from the Picenum Classical period and the section dedicated to the Gauls Senones civilization.

There are also weapons, bronze, ivory and amber pieces, vases from Athens and Attica, and gold objects such as the crowns from Montefortino di Arcevia. The Hellenistic-Roman section of the museum ends the exhibition with artefacts from the necropolis and the port of Ancona. Along the way, visitors can also admire the splendour of the Ferretti Palace, which is a priceless historical monument for the city. The frescoes in the Salone delle Feste (Hall of Celebrations) and the Hall with the frieze by Pellegrino Tibaldi will not go unnoticed as well as the rich wooden coffered or grotesque-decorated ceilings and the view of the port of Ancona, which can be appreciated from the suggestive Vanvitellian terrace.