 Introduction
The Museum is situated in Palazzo della Crocetta the entrance is from Via della Colonna near piazza SS.Anunziata. It is one of the most important museums in the world on the art and civilization of the Etruscans, though it also contains many fine examples of Greek art. The museum is partly closed and being restored following the flood of 1966, which devastated many of its sections, including the garden. The important Egyptian Museum is situated on the first floor, the second in Italy after the one in Turin.
 History
The archaeological Museum of Florence was constructed by Giulio Paris for granduchessa Luisa Maria of Austria in 1620. The Museum was set up in 1870 with collections dating back to the Medici, and documentation on the Etruscan civilization.
 Location
Address: Via della Colonna, 36
Transit: Bus: 6, 31, or 32
 Whats To See
A visit to the Museum starts with the section dedicated to Egyptian arts. The finds of the Paleolithic Age: the prehistoric Egypt that had to have started two million years ago. To this period belong the numerous utensils and instruments on display. The long history of the Egyptian people and culture is narrated by objects of diverse dating and origins: domestic utensils, beauty instruments (rooms I-V). Room XI holds various instruments relative to the ritual of Mummification, the so-called Canopic Vessels: containers for the vital organs of the deceased and essential for the funeral trousseau.
The second section of the Museum is dedicated to Etruscan art: funerary sculpture and urns in terracotta (III-IV b.C.). The Mater Matuta is the most important find in room IX: a funerary urn in the figure of a woman with a baby in her arms, symbolic of fertility and motherhood. The artifacts were found in Chiusi, Chianciano, and Volterra and date between the Fourth and Seventh Century b.C. The Etruscan section holds a bronze collection rich with devotional objects, domestic utensils, small bronzes of animals and human figures in the act of making offerings (room XIV). Finally, there is a series of ancient bronze arms for attack (daggers, helmets, knifes and lances) and shields for defense, providing protection for the heart (VII b.C.).
The third section is dedicated to the Attica Ceramics: funerary amphorae, geometric cups and vases from the VIII Century b.C. One can see the particular vases, painted with the black-figure technique asserted to be from the VI Century b.C. (room I): life scenes and those of abduction, mythological images, athletic competitions and races between carts and horses decorate the production of the famous Attic painter Lydos( 560 b.C.).
 Useful information
Telephone: +39 055 23575
Open: Monday: 14.00-19.00, Tuesday and Thursday: 8.30-19.00, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday: 8.30-14.00
Closed: December 25th, January 1st and May 1st
Disabled: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
 Links
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