National Museum of Roman Art Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
National Museum of Roman Art

Museo Nacional de Arte Romano
Façade of the Museum
Former name	Museo Arqueológico de Mérida
Established	26 March 1838 (1838-03-26)
Location	Mérida, Spain
Type	Archaeology museum
Collections	Roman art
Collection size	37,000
Visitors	239,798 (2017)
Architect	Rafael Moneo
Owner	General State Administration
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type:	Cultural
Criteria:	iii, iv
Designated:	1993 (17th session)
Part of:	Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida
Reference #:	664-017
Region:	Europe and North America
Spanish Property of Cultural Interest
Type:	Non-movable
Criteria:	Monument
Designated:	1 March 1962
Reference #:	RI-51-0001309

The National Museum of Roman Art (also called MNAR) is a cool museum in Mérida, Spain. It's all about archaeology, which is the study of old things. This museum shows off amazing Roman art and artifacts found in Mérida. Mérida used to be a big Roman city called Augusta Emerita. It's one of the biggest and most important Roman sites in Spain! In 1993, the whole area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means it's super important to the world. The MNAR is one of Spain's national museums. It is part of the country's Ministry of Culture.

History of the Museum
Museum Collections
Gallery
See also

History of the Museum

How the Museum Started

An archaeology museum was first created in Mérida a long time ago. It officially opened on March 26, 1838. At that time, an old church building was used to hold all the ancient items. This happened because of a big change in Spain where church properties were taken over by the government.

A New Beginning

In 1975, Mérida celebrated its 2,000th birthday! To mark this special event, the museum was restarted as the National Museum of Roman Art. This new museum needed a brand new building.

The Modern Building

The current museum building is a famous work by a Spanish architect named Rafael Moneo. Construction on this amazing building began in 1981. The new museum finally opened its doors to visitors on September 19, 1986. It's designed to look like a Roman building itself!

Museum Collections

The museum has a huge collection of Roman items. There are about 37,000 different pieces! These items help us understand what life was like in the ancient Roman city of Augusta Emerita. You can see everything from everyday tools to beautiful statues.