Roman Archeological Museum (Positano MAR) — Attraction in Positano

After two separate excavation campaigns, the Roman Villa of Positano opens to the public. An ancient building from the 1st century AD. buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The same eruption that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The Roman Villa of Positano, an archaeological wonder in the heart of the Amalfi coast, is finally open and visitable by the public from 18 July 2018.

Unknown until a few years ago, the Roman Villa was discovered in 2003 at a depth of 11 meters below the Church of Santa Maria dell'Assunta, right in the center of Positano. The excavation works, finished in 2017, made it possible to create an underground path with walkways and a lighting system.

To bring this jewel to light it took the synergistic cooperation between the Superintendency, Municipality and Parish but also the wise experience of experts in the sector.

The finds from the Roman Villa of Positano are included in the itinerary of the MAR-Roman Archaeological Museum of Positano.

The visit route, also accessible to people with disabilities, starts from the entrance of the MAR (Roman Archaeological Museum of Positano).

We first descend into the Upper crypt, dating back to the 16th-17th century. The MAR museum space is set up here with the display of objects found in the different excavation campaigns. We then move on to visit those which are masonry drying seats for the monks of the Benedictine convent, once annexed to the church. A few steps away is the Medieval Crypt. A much more spartan environment which is thought to have originally been used for liturgical purposes.

Continuing to descend you arrive at the magnificent triclinium, which can be admired from the top of a glass and steel walkway. A real reception room of around 35 square metres, with 5 meter high walls painted in bright colors and decorated with three-dimensional stuccos of cupids, mermaids, elegant peacocks, birds and sea serpents.

As in a grandiose scenography, you can admire fake curtains, behind which alternate representations of the villa itself, with terraces, stairs, windows and doors.

The room, 11 meters deep, was probably one of the dining rooms on the ground floor of the villa which must have had several floors, as can be deduced from the traces of beams and upper walls. Its construction dates back to between the 1st century BC and the...

Unbelievable. The M.A.R. museum offers tours that include two crypts under the main church, and the remains of a Roman Villa under the crypt. The crypts are very cool - the villa is unbelievable. Currently only one room of the villa has been excavated, but that includes two walls with the most spectacularly preserved frescos - way better than any of the walls in Pompeii. The details are so well preserved that there are still plaster reliefs of cherubs, sea horses, etc. on the walls. It was stunning. The whole tour is absolutely worthwhile - our tour guide was great and knew a lot about the site. She said they're currently working on excavating other sites in the vicinity - hopefully that's successful! Either way this is a can't-miss stop in Positano. The tour was quick, about 20 minutes, and worth...

The Roman villa fresco that is advertised by the museum on their website and all the printed materials is beautiful and helps a visitor to see and imagine a little better how a roman house looked. That said, it's just one of the very few interesting things in the museum, along with the 2 painted vases and plates and a couple of other ancient tools on display. Overall, it does not feel like a museum, but rather a room with one painted wall and several cases with exposed remains. It would still be worth it, if the price for that was not 15 EUR. If Positano and Amalfi is the only places you are planning to visit, maybe go and learn a bit about its history. But if the Archeological Museum in Naples and/or Pompeii are on your itinerary, there is nothing here that you would not see there paying just a...