National Roman Museum: Your Complete Guide

The National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano) is one of Rome’s top museums, welcoming visitors from around the world. It shows the story of ancient Rome with statues, mosaics, wall paintings, and everyday objects.

The museum is going to be the best part of your Europe Tour Package. It is split into four sites. Each site tells its own story. In the cool, underground halls of Palazzo Massimo, you’ll come face to face with lifelike sculptures and vivid wall paintings that once decorated a wealthy Roman villa. At Palazzo Altemps, a Renaissance palace filled with marble portraits, you can trace how Roman artists captured the power and personality of their subjects.

Wander through Crypta Balbi and walk in the very footsteps of Romans whose shops and homes lay buried for centuries. Finally, stand beneath the vaults of the Baths of Diocletian, where the size and scale of imperial architecture will sweep the ground off your feet.

1. Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

Built in the 19th century as a grand villa, it sits right by Termini Station. The modern museum galleries were added in the 1980s, using underground spaces to protect ancient finds from the weather.

Collections:

• Sculptures: Over 2,000 pieces, from early Republic portrait heads to Late Empire marble groups.
• Bronzes: Famous works like the “Boxer at Rest” and a life-size Hercules.
• Frescoes & Mosaics: Bright wall paintings from a suburban villa (Villa Livia) and intricate floor mosaics.