In the Villa Comunale di Crevenna “Ceriani-Bressi” in Erba, the Museo civico (Civic Museum) traces the history of the area in eight rooms, from the geological eras to the modern age, through palaeontology, prehistory, Roman times and the Middle Ages.
The museum was founded in 1961 and opened to the public in 1964 in Villa Majnoni; in 1977 it moved to its current home.
The collections
The rooms are arranged chronologically: two on palaeontology, one on prehistory and protohistory, sections on the late-antique and Roman periods, one on the Middle Ages and two on the modern age. Among the most significant finds are a Lombard spatha with silver decoration (Parravicino, 1961), Roman funerary goods from several sites in the area, the remains of a cave bear from the Buco del Piombo cave and forty species of Jurassic ammonites from Alpe Turati.
Practical information
- Address: Via Ugo Foscolo 23, Erba.
- The museum is closed. Villa Ceriani, which houses the museum, has been the subject of a restoration of about 5 million euros funded by the PNRR, begun in June 2024: according to La Provincia di Como (9 March 2026) the site was to be dismantled in May 2026, three months late, and the villa would not reopen to the public before autumn, because the museum must be re-set with a new visitor route. According to Prima Como (10 September 2026) the museum stays closed for the whole 2026-2027 school year, to reopen with a new display; meanwhile it offers activities for schools and, according to La Provincia, exhibitions and events in the «Pontiggia» library. The Comune’s page on the museum says it is temporarily closed; the reservations page, last updated in May 2021, instead listed visits by appointment with free admission and no longer applies. For information: 031 3355341, museoerba@comune.erba.co.it.
