Exhibition concept

The museum is based on the testimonies of the Po’s ancient delta, the area where the main branch of the Eridano/Po flowed until the 12th century. For centuries, it served as a hub of commerce and culture, an important point that joined the worlds of the Adriatic, the Mediterranean, and continental Europe.

Through an exhibition of almost two thousand finds and thanks to an evocative system of guides and descriptions, the history of these places has been told, starting with the birth of the Po Valley millions of years ago and continuing up to the Middle Ages. Particular attention has been paid to the classical era, with the Etruscan city of Spina; the Roman world (with the fully-loaded Roman ship found in Comacchio in 1981), the early Middle Ages with the birth of Comacchio that, until the 9th century, contested with Venice for primacy in the upper Adriatic.

The many rooms accompany visitors on a story that crosses thousands of years. This still unfinished story is dotted with various episodes that show how humans settling in the Po Delta area have adapted themselves to the environmental conditions and adapted the environment to their own needs.

The museum at Comacchio – through its use of modern technologies, the spectacular reconstruction of milieus, and dedicated smell tours – is the first to tell in its entirety the history of this territory, in a useful relationship with other important museums in the area: the National Archaeological Museum of Ferrara, the Ostellato Territory Museum, the Belriguardo Museum, and the Delizia del Verginese Museum. The aim is to provide visitors with a wide and diversified selection, where each museum complements the others, increasing the cultural offer for an insightful promotion of the local area.