{"id":8616,"date":"2020-08-13T09:42:42","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T09:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiqets-blog-staging.local\/oldest-museums-in-the-world\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T08:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T08:53:00","slug":"oldest-museums-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/oldest-museums-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Oldest Museums in the World You Can Still Visit Today","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2013<\/em>\u00a0This post was written by Liam McGarry<\/em>\u00a0\u2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the oldest museums in the world are still going strong. From papal art collections to exhibits on prehistoric beasts, these houses of culture are prime for exploring.

Museums have long been champions of cultural, religious, and historic preservation. They celebrate and document human achievement and help to tell the stories of our successes (as well as a pretty extensive list of failures). In more recent times, they\u2019ve also evolved into ideal spots to get killer Instagram shots and scoff down overpriced slices of cake.

Whether you\u2019re looking to soak up the oldest of the old on your next trip, or just want to add to your cultural vocabulary, read on to learn about some of the world\u2019s oldest museums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) <\/strong>The Capitoline Museums<\/strong><\/a>, Rome<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photo by David Bruggink<\/strong><\/a> on Unsplash<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The<\/em> oldest museum in the world \u2013 now that\u2019s <\/em>an impressive title. Maybe in 5,000 years, New York\u2019s Museum of Ice Cream<\/a><\/strong> will be the last cultural institution standing; its exhibits perfectly suited to survive an apocalyptic ice age. For now, at least, the historic title of the World’s Oldest Museum belongs to Rome\u2019s Capitoline Museums, aka Musei Capitolini<\/em>.

Why are the Capitoline Museums important? Well, of all the cultural halls on Earth providing protection and a platform for antique paintings and delicate artifacts, it\u2019s Rome’s now-enormous collection of art that set the precedent for famous institutions we know of today.

Going right back to the beginning, the museum was made possible by Pope Sixtus IV. When he wasn\u2019t masterminding the Sistine Chapel, founding the Vatican Archives, and finding cushy political jobs for family members, he carved out time to curate a collection of bronze sculptures and dedicate it to the good people of Rome.

This collection includes the Capitoline She-Wolf \u2013 a rendering of Rome\u2019s founders Romulus and Remus suckling on a mother wolf that would become a symbol of the city \u2013 and the Colossal Head of Constantine. Both of these ancient pieces can still be found at the museum today.

Since Pope Sixtus\u2019 act of charity in 1471, the collection has swelled, as has the museum\u2019s importance to the preservation of Rome\u2019s history. Set across two historic buildings, the Capitoline Museums encapsulates classic elegance and draws millions to Rome every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cLook mom, no hands!\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Palazzo dei Conservatori<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Officially opened to the public in 1734 by Pope Clement XII (who almost certainly marked the occasion by cutting a ribbon with a giant pair of scissors), entry to the Capitoline Museums is via the grand Palazzo dei Conservatori: a 16th-century mansion which would later undergo a makeover from Michelangelo.

The museum is home to various limbs of colossal statues which are strewn here and there; powerful yet forlorn fragments, dismembered from their giant bodies at various points over the last 2,000 years. There are enormous tapestries and frescoes, as well as a bust of Medusa \u2013 mythical gorgon, and enemy of all hairdressers.

Many of the museum\u2019s most important sculptural treasures can be found inside the Palazzo dei Conservatori, including that original set bequeathed by our old pal Sixtus. That original cast-bronze Capitoline She-Wolf <\/em>is one of the most popular attractions. But, there are chiseled wonders at every turn.

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius<\/em>, which now decorates the Italian euro\u2019s 50 cent coin, stands triumphantly beneath the glass ceiling of Marco Aurelio Hall.<\/em>

This towering sculpture of Rome\u2019s former emperor on horseback, which is slowly approaching its 2,000th birthday, once welcomed visitors to Piazza del Campidoglio on Capitoline Hill, until a replica took its place out in the elements.

The Conservatory also boasts delicately painted masterpieces by famous men of brushes, which are found inside the Capitoline Art Gallery. That troublesome twosome, Romulus and Remus<\/em>, makes another appearance in Rubens\u2019 famous 17th-century depiction of the wolf-raised Romans. The first version of Caravaggio\u2019s The Fortune Teller<\/em>, in which a mesmerized young man is sneakily relieved of an expensive piece of jewelry by a charming gypsy seer, is also displayed. Art aficionados might have seen a slightly later version of the same painting at Paris\u2019 Musee du Louvre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A replica of the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius<\/em>, outside one of the oldest museums in the world, the Capitoline Museums.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Palazzo Nuovo<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although separated by Piazza del Campidoglio, the two buildings of the Capitoline Museums are connected via a handy underground tunnel that passes beneath the square.

Palazzo Nuovo is devoted to statues, sculptures, and busts. This area of the world\u2019s oldest museum looks much the same as it would have done as far back as the 18th century. These marble effigies, mostly replicas of long-lost Greek statues, were often commissioned by key church figures and by noble Roman families wishing to add to their already bulging private collections.

On arrival in the courtyard, visitors are met by an ornate water feature, watched over by a sprawling recumbent statue of the bearded Oceanus<\/em>, a fabled river god. Inside are various decadent rooms and galleries, as well as two of the Capitoline Museums\u2019 most important sculptures.

An impeccable version of the Capitoline Venus<\/em>, based on Praxiteles\u2019 original Cnidian Aphrodite, stands contemplatively on a plinth inside its own private rotunda. As well as striking a pose reminiscent of every person who has ever been walked in on in the shower, this image of the nude Venus is regarded as a masterpiece of the human form. It\u2019s an iconic piece, befitting its place at the oldest museum in the world.

Another of the Capitoline Museums\u2019 marble marvels is the Dying Gaul<\/em>, also known as the Dying Galatian<\/em> or Dying Gladiator<\/em>. This sculpture of a defeated, fatally wounded Galatian, thought to have been made in the 3rd-century AD, is renowned for its realism, and pays tribute to the dignity and honor of a fallen warrior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) <\/strong>The Vatican Museums<\/strong><\/a>, Italy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cGet a snake they said, misunderstood creatures they said\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another of the oldest museums in the world is just a Vespa-ride away from the Capitoline Museums. On the other side of the Tiber, the Vatican Museums are choc-a-bloc with art amassed over the centuries by totally minimalist and not-at-all indulgent pontiffs.

If you were into the antiquated vibe at the Capitoline Museums, then the Vatican\u2019s vault of priceless art will be right up your aisle. If not\u2026 well, let\u2019s just say there are plenty of other things to do in Rome<\/strong><\/a> next time you\u2019re there.

The foundations for the Vatican Museums were laid when Pope Julius II purchased Laoco\u00f6n and His Sons <\/em>in 1506, a sculpted scene depicting a family\u2019s struggles with a deadly sea serpent. This affecting depiction of human agony is still on display at the Vatican Museums today.

The museums are, as you probably already know, most famous for a certain frescoed ceiling painted by a certain lauded genius already mentioned in this blog.

At peak times, around 25,000 people visit the holy enclave every day, and a good percentage of those visitors miss out on some of its most fascinating cultural offerings in an understandable clamor to gaze up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

As well as Michelangelo\u2019s most famous fresco, and the walled wonder that is The Last Judgement<\/em>, it is classical sculptures and Renaissance masterpieces that the Vatican Museums are best known for. Many visitors peruse these highlight exhibits but are blissfully unaware of the artifacts from the Amazon jungle and deserts of Australia located inside the Vatican\u2019s Ethnological Museum.

Other often-missed highlights include Caravaggio\u2019s Desposizione<\/em>, a much-heralded oil painting depicting Christ\u2019s burial, <\/em>and various gems inside the Collection of Contemporary Art. This area includes a version of Rodin\u2019s The Thinker,<\/em> as well as Van Gogh\u2019s Piet\u00e0<\/em>, a scene of Christ\u2019s burial\/cunning self-portrait by the tangerine-hued Dutchman.

There\u2019s so much to see here, it deserves its own blog; enjoy a full guide with tips and hidden gems for Visiting the Vatican<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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