ITALY - SEPTEMBER 27:  Bronze handle of a lebete urn, Marche, Italy, Italic Civilization, 6th Century BC. Ancona, Museo Archeologico Nazionale Delle Marche (Archaeological Museum)  (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

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Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche

Top choice in Ancona


Housed in the beautiful 16th-century Palazzo Ferretti, whose ceilings are covered with original frescoes and bas-reliefs, this museum presents a fascinating romp through time, from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. Among its treasures are Neolithic flint daggers, richly embellished Attic vases, Etruscan votive bronzes, Celtic gold (the torques and crowns are stunning) and a pristine copy of the famous bronzes of Pergola (50–30 BC).

Keep an eye out, too, for the Venus of Frasassi, an 8.7cm tall statuette carved from a stalactite 28,000 years ago.