Merano Municipal Museum, Meran, Italy

Merano Municipal Museum has already been opened in 1900, it is one of the oldest museums of the province. In that period Franz Innerhofer (1847 - 1918), a physician of Merano, collected Gothic figurines and Baroque paintings of Tyrolean masters with passion. In this way he laid the foundations for the museum. First housed in the building of the English Ladies along the Winter Promenade, the Merano Municipal Museum was transferred several times. It was moved to the tavern Roter Adler in Via delle Corse road and in a final step to the newly renovated Palais Mamming behind the St Nicholas parish church in Merano. Therefor the Merano Municipal Museum is now also known as Palais Mamming Museum.

The permanent collection offers 27 sections and provides an overview of the historical development of the town, from prehistory up to modern art. What you can admire in the museum are the above mentioned Gothic and Baroque figurines and the Baroque paintings of Tyrolean masters, also known beyond borders. Moreover there are exhibits regarding the topics mineralogy and folk art, inculding various traditional costumes, and artworks by painters of Merano of the 19th and 20th century.

Also some exotic exhibits can be admired, including an Egyptian mummy, a death mask of Napoleon as well as a Sudanese weapons collection from the Austrian Major-General Rudolf Anton Carl, Baron of Slatin. One oft he most famous exhibits is also the 4th typewriter model by Peter Mitterhofer, the founder of typewriters, born in the village of Parcines, only a stone’s throw away.

References:

suedtirolerland.it

Museums in Italy

User Reviews

Paola Giacone (2 years ago)
Bellissimo museo possibilità di fare biglietti combinato con il castello principesco a prezzo scontato. I ragazzi sotto il 14 anni non pagano. In parte scavato nella roccia. Ospita spesso mostre esterne noi abbia.o trovato quella sui presepi peruviani. Consigliatissimo.

Annalisa Miglioli (2 years ago)
Sopra ogni mia aspettativa. Da vedere quando si passa per Merano

Marcus Bartelt (3 years ago)
Irgendwie bunt zusammengewürfelt, aber dennoch unterhaltsam und spannend! Es gibt viel zu entdecken! Wir haben viel neues gelernt und es war der perfekte Zeitvertreib für einen regnerischen Nachmittag!

Matteo Quercia (3 years ago)
Moderno museo nel centro della città, incentrato sulla storia di Merano. Organizzato molto bene, per tutte le età.

Piero Seinera (3 years ago)
Una vera sorpresa questo piccolo gioiello museale! Arti figurative, reperti di ogni epoca, storia.... tutto vi è compendiato in sale dotate di esaustive didascalie. Consigliato

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Heraclea Lyncestis

Heraclea Lyncestis was an ancient Greek city in Macedon, ruled later by the Romans. It was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the middle of the 4th century BC. The city was named in honor of the mythological hero Heracles. The name Lynkestis originates from the name of the ancient kingdom, conquered by Philip, where the city was built.

Heraclea was a strategically important town during the Hellenistic period, as it was at the edge of Macedon"s border with Epirus to the west and Paeonia to the north, until the middle of the 2nd century BC, when the Romans conquered Macedon and destroyed its political power. The main Roman road in the area, Via Egnatia went through Heraclea, and Heraclea was an important stop. The prosperity of the city was maintained mainly due to this road.

The Roman emperor Hadrian built a theatre in the center of the town, on a hill, when many buildings in the Roman province of Macedonia were being restored. It began being used during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Inside the theatre there were three animal cages and in the western part a tunnel. The theatre went out of use during the late 4th century AD, when gladiator fights in the Roman Empire were banned, due to the spread of Christianity, the formulation of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the abandonment of, what was then perceived as, pagan rituals and entertainment.

Late Antiquity and Byzantine periods

In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre. A small and a great basilica, the bishop"s residence, and a funerary basilica and the necropolis are some of the remains of this period. Three naves in the Great Basilica are covered with mosaics of very rich floral and figurative iconography; these well preserved mosaics are often regarded as fine examples of the early Christian art period.

The city was sacked by Ostrogoth/Visigoth forces, commanded by Theodoric the Great in 472 AD and again in 479 AD. It was restored in the late 5th and early 6th century. When an earthquake struck in 518 AD, the inhabitants of Heraclea gradually abandoned the city. Subsequently, at the eve of the 7th century, the Dragovites, a Slavic tribe pushed down from the north by the Avars, settled in the area. The last coin issue dates from ca. 585, which suggests that the city was finally captured by the Slavs. As result, in place of the deserted city theatre several huts were built.

The Episcopacy Residence was excavated between 1970 and 1975. The western part was discovered first and the southern side is near the town wall. The luxury rooms are located in the eastern part. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th rooms all have mosaic floors. Between the 3rd and 4th rooms there is a hole that led to the eastern entrance of the residence. The hole was purposefully created between the 4th and 6th century.

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