MAPRI - Provincial Archaeological Museum ''Francesco Ribezzo''

Brindisi Provincial Archaeological Museum ''Francesco Ribezzo'', located on Piazza Duomo, accommodates an important collection of finds spanning from prehistory to the Roman Age, with sections dedicated to epigraphy, sculpture and underwater archaeology. Founded in 1884 and housed in the current building since 2009, the museum is dedicated to Francesco Ribezzo, a researcher in the field of Messapian civilization. The tour of the museum begins in the outer portico, which leads the visitor into the discovery of the different civilizations that had followed one another on the territory. Particularly valuable are the bronzes discovered in the waters of Punta del Serrone, among which are sculptures and fragments of anatomical parts and draperies which were on board of a sunken vessel. The rich collection of ceramics displays pottery of Greek origin and crockery of local craftsmanship which dates back to between the 7th and the 3rd century BC. The epigraphic section includes inscriptions in Latin, while the one dedicated to statuary comprises togate and cuirassed figures as well as female figures dating back to between the 1st and 2nd century AD.