Collection
The Exhibition Route
The Finale Archaeological Museum houses a unique collection that tells the story of thousands of years of human history, from the earliest prehistoric communities to the Roman and Medieval periods.
This remarkable heritage traces the evolution of the Finale area and invites visitors to discover, step by step, the evidence left behind by the people who lived here over the centuries.
In this section, you can explore the exhibition gallery by gallery and discover the museum’s must-see highlights.
Gallery I
The Territory
Gallery I introduces visitors to the Finale area, a region renowned for its exceptional natural landscapes, geological features, and rich historical and archaeological heritage. The exhibition explains what archaeology is and how archaeologists investigate the past, while also displaying a historic showcase from the museum’s original exhibition, illustrating the evolution of local museum displays over time. The distinctive Finale Stone limestone and the karst processes that shaped the area’s rock formations created an extensive network of caves and caverns, providing ideal shelters that encouraged human settlement from the earliest periods of prehistory.
Galleries II–IV
The Palaeolithic
Few regions in Italy have yielded as many traces of the different human species that inhabited the peninsula during the Lower and Upper Palaeolithic (approximately 350,000–10,000 years ago) as the Finale area. In Galleries II and III, visitors can follow the evolution of stone-tool technology, an essential skill that enabled Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers to survive and adapt to their environment.
Galleries V–VI
Mesolithic & Neolithic
Galleries V and VI are dedicated to the Neolithic Period (approximately 7,800–5,600 years ago), a time marked by one of the greatest cultural revolutions in human history. This period witnessed the transition from a way of life based solely on hunting and gathering to the development of the first farming and animal husbandry practices, innovations that first emerged in the Near East around 12,000 years ago before spreading across Europe.
Gallery VII
The Metal Ages
Gallery VII presents artefacts from the Metal Ages, including the Copper Age (5,600–4,200 years ago), the Bronze Age (4,200–2,900 years ago), and the Iron Age (2,900 years ago–180 BC). During these periods, people learned to extract, smelt, and work different metals, leading to major technological advances and profound social change.
Gallery VIII
The Roman Period
A dramatic battle scene welcomes visitors to Gallery VIII, recalling the Roman conquest of western Liguria. The exhibition recounts the military campaign led by the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus, whose legions occupied the territory of the Ligures Sabazi before defeating the Ligures Ingauni in 181 BC, in a battle believed to have taken place in the valleys of the Finale area.
Gallery IX
The Middle Ages
Gallery IX explores the history of medieval Finale, closely linked to the Del Carretto marquises, who ruled the territory from the 12th century until 1602. Under this powerful noble dynasty, the Marquisate of Finale became an important political, economic, and cultural centre, leaving a lasting legacy that can still be seen throughout the region today.
Gallery X
Numismatic Collections
Gallery X is dedicated to coinage, illustrating the evolution of human societies from Antiquity to the present day and marking the transition from barter-based exchanges to a true market economy. The display features the Giovanni Andrea Silla numismatic collection, consisting of over 1,600 coins, along with numerous archaeological finds recovered from the local area.
History
Il Complesso Conventuale di Santa Caterina
The Santa Caterina convent complex in Finalborgo, founded in 1359 by the Del Carretto marquises, was built adjacent to the western walls of the medieval Burgus Finarii. After being converted into a prison between 1865 and 1965, the complex was later restored and transformed into a cultural hub, now housing the Finale Archaeological Museum, the Civic Library, and an art gallery. Within the Santa Caterina complex, visitors can occasionally view the 14th-century frescoes of the Capella Oliveri. Visiting dates are available in the external calendar.
outside
The Bell Tower of Santa Caterina
Every Sunday morning, guided visits to the Santa Caterina bell tower are led by volunteers from the University of the Third Age of Finale. This experience allows visitors to climb through narrow and dim former prison cells, immersing themselves in the austere atmosphere of a 19th-century jail, before reaching the top of the tower, where panoramic views of Finalborgo and the surrounding landscape can be enjoyed.
Must-See Artefacts
Among the thousands of artefacts preserved at the Finale Archaeological Museum, some stand out for the way they uniquely tell the story of the region and its people. This section presents a selection of the museum’s 13 iconic pieces—unique objects spanning thousands of years of human life, art, and ingenuity.
SHARK TOOTH
The first artefact encountered along the route is a fossil: a shark tooth. Touch it to feel its smooth surface and its triangular shape with serrated edges.
Behind you is a fragment of a particular type of sedimentary rock known as Finale Stone. One of its key features is the presence of fossils such as mollusc shells, shark teeth, and remains of sea cows (sirenians).
BIFACIAL TOOL
Gallery II presents the earliest evidence of human presence during the Palaeolithic period. Our ancestors were nomadic hunter-gatherers whose survival depended on their ability to manufacture effective tools.
The key artefact displayed here is the biface: an almond-shaped stone tool worked on both sides to create sharp cutting edges.
SCRAPER TOOL
In Gallery III, you enter the Middle Palaeolithic, the time of the Neanderthals. This robust human species, well adapted to cold climates, inhabited the Finale area and developed advanced stone-working skills.
In front of you is a replica of a scraper, one of the most commonly used tools, especially for processing animal hides.
PERFORATED STAFF
Gallery III is also dedicated to Homo sapiens and the site of the Arene Candide Cave, a key archaeological archive for Mediterranean prehistory.
At the centre of the display is a reconstruction of the burial of the “Young Prince”, dating back around 28,000 years. This hunter was buried with an exceptionally rich grave assemblage, and his death was likely caused by a bear attack.
ROCK ENGRAVINGS
In the Arene Candide Cave, inside a narrow passage, two Palaeolithic engravings were discovered. You can observe them on the wall in front of you (they are not accessible in situ).
These marks, carved around 12,000 years ago, are reminiscent of the decorations found on plaques and pebbles (the so-called “Azilian pebbles”) typical of the end of the Late Palaeolithic.
IMPRESSED POTTERY
Gallery V is dedicated to the Neolithic Period (approximately 7,800–5,600 years ago), a time of major cultural transformation marked by the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry.
The Finale area provides the earliest evidence of the Neolithic in Liguria, characterised by the invention of pottery—the first controlled chemical process using fire.
In this gallery you can see a fragment of impressed pottery (Early Neolithic), decorated using a marine shell.
SQUARE-MOUTHED VESSEL
Gallery VI features a Square-Mouthed Pot (Middle Neolithic), a distinctive artefact of the so-called “Square-Mouthed Pot Culture”, widespread across much of northern Italy.
This type of vessel represents the culmination of the Neolithic process of cultural and technological development, known as “neolithisation.”
TOKEN
The Pian del Ciliegio rock shelter is a key site in the Finale area, used seasonally as a craft workshop for the production of pottery with stacked-form shapes.
From this site comes one of the most enigmatic artefacts of Italian prehistory: an engraved terracotta cylinder.
Similar to Near Eastern tokens, this object is interpreted as an early counting device—possibly one of the earliest steps towards writing—and may have been used to record pottery production at the site.
FIGURINE OF THE MOTHER GODDESS
The female terracotta figurine displayed here is a central artefact within the Neolithic ritual sphere.
With the rise of agriculture, a symbolic connection developed between the fertility of “Mother Earth” and female fertility. These female idols, often emphasising sexual characteristics, are found across a wide area of the Mediterranean.
However, in Liguria, the only known examples come from the Finale area, specifically the Arene Candide Cave and Pollera Cave.
COPPER AXE
Gallery VII introduces one of the most significant phases in human history: the Metal Ages (Copper, Bronze, Iron).
During these periods, early societies discovered how to smelt ores and produce metal tools that were far more effective than stone. The exhibition explains complex metallurgical techniques—from mining and smelting to the use of bellows and crucibles—which fostered trade and cultural exchange between communities.
In front of you is a replica of a copper axe blade, one of the earliest metals used by humans, similar to those employed by Ötzi, the Iceman of the Similaun.
ROMAN OIL LAMP
Gallery VIII introduces another key phase in the history of the Finale area: the Roman occupation, which began after the determined resistance of the ancient Ligurian peoples and concluded in 181 BC. From this point onward, the region gradually adopted Roman customs and ways of life.
The most common object associated with everyday Roman life is the terracotta oil lamp, used to illuminate domestic spaces and also serving as a symbolic object in funerary contexts.
BYZANTINE CROSSBOW BROOCH
Gallery VIII continues with the period of crisis of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and the subsequent transition of the Finale area under the control of the Byzantine Empire (6th–7th centuries AD).
In front of you is a replica of a bronze cruciform brooch, a type of fibula (clothing pin) from the Byzantine site of Sant’Antonino di Perti. The discovery of this and other female-related objects suggests that the fortress was not only a military stronghold, but also a residential settlement for families.
MEDIEVAL PROCESSIONAL CROSS
Gallery IX is dedicated to the period in which the history of Finale was shaped by the Del Carretto marquises (12th century–1602). During this time, the Finale area became part of the revival of medieval Mediterranean trade networks, as shown by the discovery of imported ceramics and luxury goods.
The central object is a replica of a processional cross in bronze alloy, linked to the local religious sphere.
The New MAF Audio Guide
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