LAUS POMPEIA

The Laus Pompeia Museum recounts the rediscovery of one of the most important Roman cities in Lombardy: a flourishing centre, completely destroyed in the Middle Ages by a bloody war, then abandoned, rebuilt and transformed thanks to the vitality and perseverance of its inhabitants.

On the site that for centuries was the heart of the city - first the site of the Roman forum and later of St. Mary's Cathedral - today stands the cultural centre of Lodi Vecchio, consisting of the Laus Pompeia Museum, the Library and the Archaeological Park.

The museum is housed in an 18th-century building that was once used as a stable and barn within the rural complex of Lower Court. Between 2010 and 2014, the building underwent a thorough restoration, which enhanced its original structure and adapted it to its new museum function.

Inside are the City Museum, located on the first floor, and the Library, which preserves the valuable collection of Antonio Frova (1914-2007), a Milanese archaeologist with deep ties to Lodi Vecchio and author of the first archaeological research carried out with a scientific method in the area.

The museum complex overlooks St. Mary's Square, corresponding to the ancient forum of Laus Pompeia, the main square of the Roman city. Here you can visit not only the Museum and Library, but also the adjacent archaeological area, where the remains of the church of Santa Maria, the ancient cathedral of Lodi Vecchio, built in the late 4th century and demolished in the late 19th century.

Archaeological excavations have uncovered impressive pillar and masonry foundations: some belonged to a large Roman public building facing the forum, others to the later medieval basilica.