The National Archaeological Museum of Umbria – Museo Nazionale dell’Umbria or M.A.N.U. – is located in the S. Domenico complex, formerly a military building under Napoleonic domination it was nationalised with the unification of Italy, it became a museum in 1948
The museum was founded to collect all the heritage of the various civic museums of the province – including some private collections – under the same roof. To this day it houses one of the richest selections of Roman and Etruscan archaeological finds.
The current layout dates back to 2009 and is arranged in chronological order from prehistory to the Roman period. The itinerary is interspersed with thematic or contextual rooms, such as the reconstruction of the Cai Cutu Tomb in an underground room located in the cloister. The tomb was found intact in 1983 and it contained about fifty urns in typical Perugian style, plus a sandstone sarcophagus that contained the remains of an interred body (inhumation was a common practice in the archaic era, replaced with cineration during the Hellenistic period). All urns are inscribed with the name of the deceased and all belong to the same family: the Cai Cutu.
Along the walls of the cloister are displayed various items found in some Perugian Necropoleis as well as some other pieces from the Roman period and epigraphs that illustrate the rebirth of Perugia (Perusia Restituta) after Octavius‘ intervention following the battle with Lucius Antonius.
In a room near the staircase there are some Roman sculptures, including a Marble Telemon probably dating back to the Roman Empire.
Upstairs, one can notice the various travertine urns dated between the III and the I Century B.C., depicting some scenes of Greek culture, also found in the Perugian Necropoleis. Also on the same floor, the other exhibition dedicate to the Cacni Tomb (III-II Century B.C.). Found in 2003 by the Roman Heritage Protection Unit of the police in Elce, along the ancient road that connected Perugia with Cortona and Chiusi. The tomb contained the sarcophagus, the urns, and the grave goods. The urns are made of travertine in the typical style of Perugian Necropoleis of the time. There are numerous decorations on them, especially concerning Greek Mythology.
Still on the same floor are also displayed numismatic collections and amulets (from the Bellucci’s private collection)
The itinerary of the National Archaeological Museum of Umbria begins with a prehistorical section which – thanks to interactive supports, including several images – retraces the origin of mankind until the disappearance of the Homo sapiens. The itinerary proceeds in chronological order to the areas dedicated to the Umbrians and the Etruscans, which are divided in two separate wings that compare the two civilisations and show the similarities between them.
Then there is a section dedicated to Perugian Necropoleis with invaluable pieces, such as the Sperandio Sarcophagus. The itinerary goes on in the adjacent corridor that reconstructs the story of Perugia from the Villanovan Period up to the Roman Period.
Finally there is a room dedicated to the famous Cippus Perusinus. This was found in 1822 on the hill of San Marco.
The museum, also known as M.A.N.U., is one of the most appreciated touristic/cultural attractions in the whole city which never fails to amaze the visitors.