The National Archaeological Museum of Crotone is located in the historic heart of the city, an area of extraordinary topographical and symbolic significance: the ancient Greek acropolis, which in the medieval period became the center of the walled city. The museum represents one of the most important cultural hubs of Ionian Calabria, safeguarding a heritage whose roots lie in prehistory and extend through the centuries of Magna Graecia and beyond.

Upon entering the museum, visitors embark on a journey through the millennia-long history of the territory of Crotone, spanning different periods: from prehistory—with stone axes, scrapers, and Iron Age finds—to the evidence illustrating the foundation and development of the Greek colony of Kroton, its interaction with indigenous populations, funerary rituals, and everyday life. Equally significant is the museum’s focus on the wider territory, offering a broad overview of the settlements of Krimisa, Petelia, and Makalla, places closely connected to foundational myths and the most representative cults of the region, including those of Apollo, Philoctetes, and the Sirens.

Special attention is also devoted to extra-urban sanctuaries, witnesses to a widespread and stratified religious landscape. Among these, particular prominence is given to the sites of Vigna Nuova, Sant’Anna di Cutro, Cotronei, Zinga di Casabona, and above all the renowned sanctuary of Apollo Aleo at Cirò Marina, one of the most important in ancient southern Italy. For the Roman period, it is primarily the finds from urban necropolises that provide insight into the daily life and economy of a center that had lost its original prominence.

Visiting the National Archaeological Museum of Crotone means listening to the long narrative of one of the richest and most flourishing territories of Magna Graecia, which succeeded in writing an important chapter in the history and culture of southern Italy and the Mediterranean.