Feltre, the "Venice of the Dolomites," which is close to Belluno in the Veneto region, will welcome its new Archaeological Museum at the end of April.
The new facility will feature artefacts from Roman Feltria, a municipium with jurisdiction over the Alpine valleys between Belluno and Trento, and one of the most important ancient centres on the Venetian mainland's upper reaches.
A journey from the museum through the city
This new-generation museum, the work of the Municipality of Feltre in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency, will exhibit many unique finds and tell a fascinating story, on a journey that begins inside the museum and winds its way along the city’s major Roman and earlier Rhaetian monuments. Each exhibit has an in-depth digital analysis, connected to a web archive accessed via QR Code directly on the visitor's smartphone. The interactive exhibition path also has other multimedia devices such as video projectors, speaker systems and monitors.
Statuary and refined ornaments
A spectacular parade of Ionic-Italic capitals in soft stone from Vicenza welcomes visitors to the new museum. The adjoining room is dedicated to small statuary and refined ornaments that belonged to wealthy local residences between the 1st century B.C. and 2nd century A.D. Visitors can also see the monumental Greek marble statue of Aesculapius which was discovered during excavations in the cathedral's churchyard in 1974. Next to it is a votive altar to Anna Perenna, the ancient Roman goddess.
Artefacts from ancient burial areas
There is no shortage of artefacts from remote burial areas, such as those found in urban cemeteries, from personal ornaments to coins and furnishings in terracotta, blown glass, and metal. The tomb of Aeronia Maxima, discovered in Sovramonte in the 1950s, is quite unique, consisting of a tuffaceous urn containing incinerated bones and an inscription.
