The Ducal museum of antiquities was founded in Parma in 1760 by Don Philip of Bourbon in order to preserve the finds from excavations carried out at Veleia, a small Roman town on the Apennines near Piacenza. The Tabula Alimentaria of Emperor Trajan, containing directions for the maintenance of poor children, had been discovered there by chance and is still exhibited in the museum. During the French rule, at the beginning of the 19th century, it was stripped of its most prestigious items, which were to be returned only after the Congress of Wien. Under Marie Louise, the collections were extended thanks to important purchases. Since the Unity of Italy, it has also housed a study and research center in the field of Paleontology.
The collections are currently displayed on two floors: the first floor houses the finds from Veleja as well as the non-local Greek, Roman and Etruscan sculptures, ceramics, glassware and coins; the ground floor houses the pre and protohistoric sections and the one concerning Parma and the surrounding area in the Roman period. A room on the first floor is dedicated to the Egyptian collection, including a limestone fragments of the Tomb of Amenemone from Menphis (1405-1370 BC).
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