Museo Archeologico del Pellegrino (MAP) di Campagnano di Roma

The discovery of a Roman age structure at Baccano along the Via Cassia used for welcoming travelers (in Latin mansio) was fundamental for the creation of the Archeological Museum of Campagnano, which was inaugurated in 1989 as a museum of the territory, having the goal of enhancing the protection and promotion of the local archeological heritage.

The Pilgrim Archeological Museum derives from this previous experience: its exhibition, presenting a number of new objects, is organized using chronological and topographical criteria.

The storytelling of the exhibition, in the framework of the local museum network, is addressed to the public, with special regard to citizens and pilgrims travelling along the Via Francigena. As a consequence, the visit is diversified and enriched on two levels, considering the themes of local history and travel in its cultural and material aspects.

A vocation towards travelling and exchange is deeply seeped in our territory for its ancient role as a boundary area, for the presence of important roads, such as the via Cassia, Amerina and Francigena, as well as for the presence of Christian sanctuaries visited in pilgrimage.

The logo of the Museum incorporates the symbol of the mansio “Ad Vacanas”, found on the Tabula Peutingeriana, the medieval copy of a road map of the Roman empire dating from the fourth century AD.

The choice of the new museum’s home is also the expression of this inheritance: in fact, the place hosting the museum was once the stables of the Pontifical mounted police (Carabinieri), who were responsible for overseeing the Via Cassia and the postal routes of the Church State.

The museum was born and exists for the visitors: for those who live here, for those who travel from far and wide, for pilgrims. It is not a final destination; it does not wish to stop time: but instead it is a stopping point along the material travel experience for all those who come through its entrance.