Civic Archaeological Museum of Bologna is the Palazzo Galvani, not far from Piazza Maggiore, built in the 15th century. In the late 19th century it had carried out significant restoration work, after which, in 1881, it was converted into a city Museum. Here were transported valuable historical artifacts donated by the Bologna University various well-wishers, including private individuals. Among the patrons there were very famous people – for example, Pope Benedict XIV, a native of Bologna. Today from 18 rooms that make up the Museum, 12 devoted to archeology. They are the most ancient finds, indicating that people settled in the outskirts of Bologna already in Paleolithic times.

Most of these finds was made randomly on the sites of excavation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Significant role in the development of archaeology as a science in Italy has played a eminent scientists of the time – Giuseppe Kerichi, Luigi Pigorini and Pellegrini Strobel: they found many historic graves, which in turn has created public interest and has inspired the next generation of scientists to carry out works. In the basement of the Museum since 1994 are exhibits in the Egyptian collection is one of the largest and most significant outside Egypt. Here you can see the bas-reliefs dated to 1332 BC, vases, coins, medals, funerary stelae, decorated wooden coffins and bronze sculptures. Particularly noteworthy are the beautiful death masks of various Egyptian pharaohs, more than 3, 5 thousand years!

On the first floor of the Museum presents the tombstones of the age of the Roman Empire – they date from the mid 1st century BC – 2nd century ad On some you can see portraits of noble families of the era – Cornelli, Lennie, Purvi. It also stores and tombstones with the Greek, Christian and Coptic inscriptions. The latter were discovered in the outskirts of Bologna in 1894.

Constant attention of the visitors of the Museum is the collection of antiquities from the era of the Etruscans – 9-8 centuries BC In the Etruscan tombs were discovered terracotta and bronze funerary urn with amazing ornament, ornaments, pottery and weapons.

Finally, you can't pass up an extensive collection of plaster casts of the world-famous Greek and Roman sculptures.