“Giuseppe Zannato” Civic Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences

Montecchio Maggiore

The Museo Civico 'Giuseppe Zannato' houses two important collections in dialogue with each other and with the territory: the naturalistic and the archaeological. Here you can find palaeontological finds, gems and minerals from the Vicenza area, an astonishing collection of Italian and international fossil crustaceans; as well as Celtic hooks, protohistoric and Roman materials, and Longobard belt elements decorated with agemina, all testimonies relating to the Agno-Chiampo territory. The Museum is also the operational headquarters of the Agno-Chiampo Museum System.

The visit

The basement floor houses the natural history section, with gems and minerals from the Vicenza area, palaeontological finds from the territory and an exceptional collection of Italian and international fossilised crustaceans. While the main floor houses the archaeology section, organised in five rooms, displaying artefacts from the Neolithic to the Longobard period, from the territory of the Agno and Chiampo valleys.

The history

Founded in 1922 as a private museum by Cav. Giuseppe Zannato, it became a municipal museum in 1983.

In 1983 it began with three rooms, increasing to seven in 1998. During this period its seat was in the basement of the Civic Library (Villa Lorenzoni). Since 2007 it occupies the entire building of Villa Lorenzoni and consists of twelve rooms, a large lecture hall, laboratories and offices.

In the early years it was supported by a variety of collaborations, with different roles. In particular, the role supported by the Friends of the Museum Association stands out for its constant and qualified contribution. However, there was also a strong commitment from the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Veneto and the University of Padua. Today these collaborations continue, but direct municipal management is ensured by the presence of two conservators (archaeologist and naturalist), a Director and custodial staff.

The museum also carries out research, teaching and dissemination activities and acts as a cultural reference point for the citizens of western Vicenza on all issues related to archaeology and natural sciences.

The collection of fossil crabs stands out for its international importance; other naturalistic collections concern other fossils from the area and minerals and gems from the Vicenza area. The archaeological evidence ranges from prehistoric times to the Longobards.

Saturday from 15.00 to 18.30

Sunday from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Special openings on public holidays are indicated on the Museum website www.museozannato.it

€ 3.00 full price

€ 2.00 reduced price over 60, under 18, individual quota for groups

Free for children up to 10 years of age

€ 6,00 cumulative ticket for accompanied visit to Romeo and Juliet’s Castles, Priare and Museum (valid for one month from first use)

Tel. 0444 492565

E-mail: museo@comune.montecchio-maggiore.vi.it

Sito web: www.museozannato.it

how to reach us

Shield boss

This beautiful iron shield boss is decorated with copper alloy sheets applied: a central cross-shaped and five fish-shaped on the spire. The latter are today unique among the finds in Italy. It was found in the tomb of a knight, in the Longobard cemetery of Monticello di Fara, together with many other items of equipment, such as weapons, namely a sword, a spear and arrows, two rich belts with buckles, tips and plates ageminate, that is inlaid in silver and copper alloy, a bag with steel and knife suspended from a third belt and finally a spur on the left foot. The Christian knight was buried around 650 AD in a church, according to the traditional Longobard ritual. The cemetery was located a short distance from Via Postumia, the important Roman road that from the 2nd century BC crossed the Po plain, at the height of the current A4. The discovery took place in 2020 during the preventive archaeological intervention for the new anti-Pfas aqueduct Lonigo-Brendola and confirmed the presence of Lombards in the territory of Sarego, as indicated by the toponym Monticello di Fara: from the Germanic fahren (to go), referring to family groups and later to Lombard settlements. The shield boss is now on display in the Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences “G. Zannato” of Montecchio Maggiore

Necklace

The shapes and colours of the materials that make up this necklace are striking: four double-cone elements made of bronze wire and glass beads of different colours. Equally interesting are the shapes and dimensions of the elements that compose it: small and large cylindrical blue pearls, faceted, elongated shape; oval or long and thin green pearls, cylindrical green pearls; spherical yellow pearls. Along with the necklace, other simpler jewels, such as bone bracelets, bronze bracelets, iron bracelets and a bronze ring, were placed in the owner's grave. The funeral attire was completed by a jug, a glass and a coin. The latter, minted around the middle of the 4th century A. D. , allows the tomb to be dated to the following decades. This necklace was found in Montecchio Maggiore, in the locality of Carpane, now known as the necropolis of Carpane, in the plain belt of Alte Ceccato, not far from the path of Via Postumia, and is exhibited at the Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences “G. Zannato” in Montecchio Maggiore.

Axe in stone

The polished green stone axe, photographed from the three sides, dates back to the Neolithic - Ancient Bronze (end of the 5th - end of the 3rd millennium BC) and was found in Brendola, in Fosso del Gotòro, in the 70s of the last century. The axe is intact, except for some cracks on the cutting edge. The sides and the heel, where the axe was attached to the handle, are blunted, while the part closest to the cutting edge is carefully polished. It is made of eclogite, a stone belonging to the group of high pressure metophyllites. This type of rock comes from the Western Alps (Piedmont and Liguria) and has had, especially in the Neolithic, an exceptional diffusion even at great distances from the place of origin, both in Italy and in Europe, thanks to the characteristics of resistance, aesthetic value and ease of being polished. Since it is a random finding in a site from which many Roman finds come, we do not know if the axe was in the primary deposit, and thus documents an earlier visit to the site, or if it was reused as an amulet in the Roman age, according to a well-known custom. Evidence of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, including traces of “prehistoric roads”, can be found in the vicinity. Now you can see it at the Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences “G. Zannato” – Montecchio Maggiore.

Votive plate

This votive plate in two bronze fragments was found at Alte Ceccato in the locality of San Giacomo between 1986 and 1988, together with other fragments as a result of deep ploughing. The plate, worked in embossing and engraving, is preserved for less than half and presents a warrior with helmet and shield, within a studded frame. The complete representation, according to a recent study, had to be that of a warrior on horseback, as we can see in the drawing that hypothesizes its original shape. The lamina comes from an area of great archaeological interest: the narrow stretch of plain between the last outcrops of the Lessini and the Berici, has always been an obligatory crossing point of the road and has already played a role of primary importance for travel and trade since at least the recent Neolithic. From 148 B. C. , the road axis of Postumia passed through here, although the actual route in the area has not yet been precisely identified. It is now on display at the Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences “G. Zannato” in Montecchio Maggiore.

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