National Museum of Roman Art

Mérida, Spain

The National Museum of Roman Art is an archaeology museum located in Mérida. Devoted to Roman art, it exhibits extensive material from the archaeological ensemble of Mérida (the Roman colony of Augusta Emerita), one of the largest and most extensive archaeological sites in Spain, registered as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

An archaeology museum in Mérida was created for the first time through a royal order issued on 26 March 1838. On the occasion of the two thousandth anniversary of the city's foundation, the museum was refounded as the National Museum of Roman Art in 1975. The current building is a work by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. Building works started in 1981. The new premises were unveiled on 19 September 1986.

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Founded: 1986
Category: Museums in Spain

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Ken Richards (13 months ago)
Beautifully designed building paying tribute to the Roman Brick. The collection is housed in a grand Hall of soaring of arches. The highlights are the mosaics recovered from houses excavated in the surrounds of the Roman town of Augusta Eremita. These are vast in size. There are also originals of statuary from the nearby theatre. I often wonder how much more we would have of Roman art if the early Christians had not vandalised so many statues. Most of these are either headless. Or have had their noses carefully hammered.
Dick Hazard (14 months ago)
Fantastic Museum. For €3.50 (someday’s it is free) you really can’t beat the amount of history for the price.
Alex (14 months ago)
Fantastic museum but it needs some updating. Parts of the exhibition were closed because it rained through the roof, the crypt was closed due to technical issues, the lighting in some of the showcases was dead. Nevertheless super impressive, beautiful artifacts
Mariano Picco (15 months ago)
Very interesting guided tour. Make sure you book the tour before hand, it might be full for the day. It is free and Spanish only
Patrick Ohearn Ph.D. (2 years ago)
This museum, in fact, this entire city center, is an archaeological, dig along the lines of anything you would see in Italy with so many treasures they are still finding from the old capital of Lusitania back in ancient Rome. If you’re at all interested in ancient Roman history and you’re in Spain you really should see the city which is a world heritage site. it’s unbelievable that a city way out in the extremadura has a rich historical inheritance, and the museum is very well organized and beautiful for a city of modest size. Ole!
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