Parco di Colfiorito

The MAC -  Museo archeologico di Colfiorito (Colfiorito Archaeological Museum), in the new location in the Via Plestia, was born thanks to the collaboration between the municipality of Foligno and the government department responsible for Umbria's archaeological Goods. The new structure has been enlarged: on a 1,200-square-meter-large surface divided into three levels, about 1,400 archeological finds are exhibited.
The building consists of two preexisting brickwork structures - belonging to the infirmary of the Colfiorito Concentration Camp - and of a new central structure made of steel and glass realized by the architect Roberto De Rubertis.
All the exhibition areas are equipped with description panels with the chronological indication of the related historical period.
The scientific preparation project has been realized by Laura Bonomi, the archaeologist who dedicated most of her research activity to the excavations and to the study of the territory of Plestini di Colfiorito.
The Plestini, Umbrian people whose existence is documented by literary and epigraphic evidences, used to live in Colfiorito karstic plateaus. The collected data witness the vitality of the area of Plestia, documented since the early Iron Age to the early Middle Ages, for its strategic position connecting the Adriatic coast with the Tyrrhenian coast. About 400 finds witness Plestia civilization from its origins to its Romanization, as well as the role it played in the network of cultural exchanges between Etruria, Magna Graecia, and Greece. The materials belonging to the archaic age come from sanctuaries, religious and commercial centers widespread in the area: among them, the sanctuary of the goddess Cupra, built in the late 6th century BC, from where rich votive objects (now preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Foligno) and four bronze leaves of the 4th century BC with a dedication to the goddess in Umbrian language (National Archaeological Museum in Perugia) have been found. Very rich burial objects witness wealth and a good political and social organization. The Romanization of the area of Plestia (second half of the 4th-3rd century BC) led to the strengthening of the town of Plestia in the valley and to the birth of country villas (Annifo, Seggio, Piani di Ricciano, and Franca).

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