Five million euros by 2026 for restoration and refurbishment of MAN Marche

The renovation project consisting of the architectural restoration and refurbishment of the National Archaeological Museum of the Marches, which has been housed in Ancona’s 16th-century Palazzo Ferretti since 1958, is entering its crucial phase.

The first major intervention, nearing completion, is the restoration of the monumental staircase designed by Vanvitelli. Under the direct attention of Marche Regional Museums Director Luigi Gallo, starting from an important research work on the palace carried out by the Federico II School of Specialization in Architectural Restoration directed by Professor Renata Picone and in agreement with the ABAP Superintendency led by architect Cecilia Carlorosi, the restoration has allowed the rediscovery of the original 18th-century colors with careful stratigraphic investigations on the plasterwork, and soon it will be possible to see again the light blue and green that accompany the ivory of Varlé’s highly refined stuccoes, restored to their detailed delicacy. The restoration is not only a chromatic intervention, but also involves making the structure safe and up to code, working on the electrical system and renewed lighting in order to make the most of this architectural excellence.

It also aims to reconfigure the visitor experience by placing the visitor and his or her needs at the center. The layout of the 1980s, signed by Franco Minissi, the father of Italian archaeological museography, will be renewed with the aim of making the Marches museum a welcoming point for those who wish to learn about the history of the Adriatic territory, in continuous reference to local realities and the widespread heritage that characterizes the wealth of the Marches. For these important restoration and refurbishment works, the Marche Regional Museum Directorate has committed itself to identifying various funding channels, which within four years will bring to Ancona more than five million euros, already approved, distributed among PNRR funds, Special Funds for seismic upgrading, funds from Law 190 (contributions from the lottery game) and ordinary funds from the public works program.

“The Marche Museums Directorate is investing a great deal in MAN Marche,” said Luigi Gallo, regional director of Marche Museums, “both in terms of human resources, thanks to the effort of a competent and efficient team, and in terms of economic resources by channeling various funds from the Ministry of Culture. Getting our hands on Palazzo Ferretti means dealing with a container and content of national importance, with extraordinary potential for archaeology, history and art.”

“The museum must go back to speaking to today’s visitor,” added Diego Voltolini, director of MAN Marche, “all the interventions we have planned see the visitor as the ultimate goal, because enhancing means first and foremost giving back to the public, offering them all the tools to be able to live an enriching experience in the museum.”

The phase of the executive designs for the restoration of the Minissi display of the Picene collections and the new display of the prehistoric section has already begun, as has the design of the PNRR interventions to make the museum storerooms accessible to the public, and the design of the seismic improvement and restoration of the decorative apparatus of Palazzo Ferretti is being entrusted, while the phase of the diagnostic study of the structure and decorated surfaces has been completed. Restoration of the Vanvitellian staircase is also being completed, and it will return to view in early fall.

On the ground floor, work is underway to upgrade the spaces to be dedicated to temporary exhibitions, which will be completed in 2024 with six rooms that will host exhibitions created with the many artifacts from the museum’s deposits and to accommodate exhibition proposals from other museums, anticipated by the new ticket office and public reception area, with all services for the public.

Also in 2024, work will begin in the deposits, to make the museum’s behind-the-scenes facilities accessible: the exhibits will thus be made available again to scholars and visitors, according to a design idea of a “library of objects,” with an adjoining study room and space dedicated to the care and maintenance of the collections.

A set of interventions that are expected to be completed by 2026, working in parallel on several fronts to return, in progression, a museum that is concretely a wide-ranging cultural attractor. A season of construction sites at Palazzo Ferretti, but without closures to the public. The management’s choice was thoughtful precisely because of the experience of the National Archaeological Museum of the Marches, which in its history has closed only for World War II, the great earthquake of 1972 and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sunday from 2 to 7:30 p.m.

Admission: Full 6 euros, reduced 3 euros (18-25 years), free under 18 and categories stipulated by relevant regulations.

Five million euros by 2026 for restoration and refurbishment of MAN Marche

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