M.A.M. – Archeology Museum of Monteriggioni

Inaugurated in July 2023, the M.A.M. (Archeological Museum of Monteriggioni) is an itinerary à rebours through the history of Monteriggioni from the Middle Ages to Protohistory, with constant reference to the territorial sphere of Val d’Elsa.

The route unfolds between the exterior and interior of the Monumental Complex of Abbadia a Isola, which has recently been restored and explained with special panels framing its historical events, as well as illustrating the low medieval burial ground (visible) identified here by excavations.

Access is through the rooms of the Tinaia (the room used for wine production), which introduce both the Cloister and the rooms on the upper floor; in the three rooms, in succession, it is possible to retrace the history of the abbey and its cloister, as well as to see the reconstruction of a member of the Franzesi family (the last lords of Staggia influential on Abbadia a Isola) buried with her jewels in the cloister itself.

In the “Sigerico” Hall, the display continues from the Roman Age to Protohistory, with a prominent place given to the tomb of the Calisna Śepu, from the Casone necropolis, found in 1893 in Malacena small farm. This section also features the facial reconstruction of the so-called “Chiostraccio Man”; this is a skeleton found in 1962, initially dated to over 15,000 years ago. Today, thanks to new analyses (carbon-14 and DNA), it has been possible to establish that he lived in Etruscan times.