History of the museum
The Pietro Griffo Regional Archaeological Museum in Agrigento is a fundamental institution for understanding the ancient civilizations of central-southern Sicily. Its evolution is marked by significant dates and moments:
1939
Law 823/39 established the Superintendency of Antiquities for the provinces of Agrigento and Caltanissetta (later extended to Enna) with headquarters in Agrigento, focusing on the rich monumental and material heritage of central-southern Sicily.
1950s
Giovanni Zirretta, director of the Civic Museum, in agreement with superintendent Pietro Griffo, transfers the Civic Museum's art collections to the State, with the aim of housing them in a new state museum.
1967
The National Archaeological Museum of Agrigento is inaugurated. Designed by architect Franco Minissi, the building stands on the hill of San Nicola and incorporates some restored structures of a medieval monastery, first Cistercian and then Franciscan.
1967
At the same time as its inauguration, the museum was named after Pietro Griffo, superintendent of antiquities in Agrigento, who tenaciously sought and oversaw its creation. At the time of its opening, it was established as the third National Archaeological Museum of Sicily, after those in Palermo and Syracuse. Its mission is to collect and exhibit historical and archaeological evidence, from prehistory to the early Middle Ages, of the ancient civilizations that settled in the central-southern part of the region.
1970s
The museum passes into the jurisdiction of the Sicilian Region. It begins to exhibit finds from excavations in the territory of Agrigento and in the provinces of Agrigento, Caltanissetta, and Enna, together with the archaeological collection already housed in the Agrigento Civic Museum.
Late 1980s
The museum is separated from the Superintendency and given managerial autonomy, becoming the historical and archaeological interpreter of the city and its vast territory.
