Grand entrance to Civico Museo Archeologico

©Stephanie Ong/Lonely Planet


The 8th-century Monastero Maggiore, once the most important Benedictine convent in the city, is now home to Milan's archaeological museum. Access is via a cloister, where fragments of the city's Roman walls can be seen. Ground-floor rooms display important artefacts from Roman Mediolanum, while on upper floors the city's history unfolds in well-curated collections of Etruscan, Greek, Gothic and Lombard artefacts. In the garden, the 3rd-century frescoed Ansperto Tower marks the limits of Mediolanum's city walls.


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