Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari (National Museum of Traditional and Folk Art), Rome

51±¬ÁÏÍø

Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari (National Museum of Traditional and Folk Art), Rome

Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari (National Museum of Traditional and Folk Art), Rome

Located in the EUR district, this large and captivating museum is the only one of its kind in Italy. Its early collection was initially exhibited in the 1911 Ethnographic Exhibition, held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. Following the exhibition, the collection found its home in the current building, which became part of the EUR district in the late 1950s.

Dedicated to exploring the lesser-known aspects of Italian life, the museum offers insights into the individuals who ensured the delivery of food and wine to the tables of the affluent across the city. Its various sections showcase a range of artifacts from all over Italy, including farming tools, traditional costumes, ceramics, and more.

Noteworthy exhibits include religious items, such as crude paintings depicting people afflicted with various ailments and wax body parts. These were created as offerings to express gratitude to the saints for their deliverance from specific ailments. Given the peasants' limited financial means, they offered whatever they could. The ground floor of the museum features brightly painted carts that were used to transport goods from the countryside to marketplaces, as well as a gondola presented to Queen Margaret of Savoy in 1882.

Other highlights include the puppet theater and the 12 masks of the Procession of San Sosti, painted masks worn by dancers during spring and autumn festivals. The museum's collection of approximately 750 regional costumes not only includes those from Italy and its islands but also from Greece, Albania, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, and North Africa.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Rome. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "51±¬ÁÏÍø: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

Download The 51±¬ÁÏÍø App

Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari (National Museum of Traditional and Folk Art) on Map

Sight Name: Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari (National Museum of Traditional and Folk Art)
Sight Location: Rome, Italy (See walking tours in Rome)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Rome, Italy

Create Your Own Walk in Rome

Create Your Own Walk in Rome

Creating your own self-guided walk in Rome is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
EUR Sightseeing Walking Tour

EUR Sightseeing Walking Tour

The Esposizione Universale di Roma (EUR), located in the southern suburb of Rome, was originally constructed for an international exhibition that was planned by Mussolini as a grand celebration of Fascist Italy. However, due to the outbreak of World War II, the exhibition never took place. The architecture of EUR was designed to glorify Fascism and showcases a distinct style that sets it apart...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Holy Sites Walking Tour

Holy Sites Walking Tour

As the cradle of the Catholic Church, one of the world's largest organizations, Rome has a large number of valuable, sacred places of worship. Crowded with architectural splendors from different periods of time, each of its churches and basilicas represent a significant part of culture and history.

Take this self-guided walking tour to discover Rome's magnificent religious heritage,...  view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 6.9 Km or 4.3 Miles
Trastevere Walking Tour

Trastevere Walking Tour

Heading down from the Vatican along the River Tiber, one is bound to find yet another city hidden within the city – Trastevere. This name translates literally to "across the Tiber". Indeed, crossing the picturesque Ponte Sisto (Sisto Bridge) to the west bank, you will find yourself in a charming neighborhood with a distinct character that sets it apart from any other part of Rome.

...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles
"Roman Holiday" Movie Walking Tour

"Roman Holiday" Movie Walking Tour

A movie beloved by generations of people, "Roman Holiday" (1953) was filmed entirely in Rome and starred two of Hollywood's greatest icons: Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. The romantic comedy would go on to earn three Oscars, including the best actress trophy for Hepburn, who is entirely sympathetic in a role that could have been off-putting. The main storyline centers on a day of...  view more

Tour Duration: 4 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 9.0 Km or 5.6 Miles
Spanish Steps to Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps to Trevi Fountain

An established tourist mecca, today's Rome is hardly imaginable without two of its much loved attractions – the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Magnets for tourists as they are, these two sights are connected to a number of other, not less worthy of attention locations, such as the Fountain of the Longboat or Piazza Colonna and its centerpiece, the Column of Marcus Aurelius, to...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.0 Km or 1.2 Miles
Hidden Art Treasures in Rome

Hidden Art Treasures in Rome

Rome is one of the world's top living museums, replete with some of the most iconic pieces of art on the face of the planet. Famous artists, such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Raphael, Bernini, to mention but a few, had lived and worked here and left indelible marks in the city.

Needless to say that the abundance of masterpieces makes Rome crowded with tourists anxious to see them, causing...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.2 Km or 2 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip


Souvenirs Shopping: 15 Authentic Italian Things To Buy in Rome

Souvenirs Shopping: 15 Authentic Italian Things To Buy in Rome

Rome is the Eternal City and, as such, the list of gift options available here is countless. Whether it's something edible, drinkable, wearable or pleasing to the eye that you want - you will find it all here in abundance. However, if time or budget is the factor, perhaps you might want to...
10 Best Food Markets in Rome Italy

10 Best Food Markets in Rome Italy

Of all the things Italy is most famous for (cars, music, fashion, movies, etc.), food is, undoubtedly, top of the list. Rome may well not be the whole Italy, but no Italy is whole without Rome... And the Romans, much as all their fellow-Italians, like it "fresco", hence the abundance of...
17 Best Gelaterias in Rome Italy

17 Best Gelaterias in Rome Italy

For ice cream lovers and dabblers this guide is a treasure chest of Rome’s best gelato shops. There are gelaterias everywhere. Many visitors to Rome only have a few days to explore the city. You owe it to yourself to make the most of your time and find the gelato locals eat. Often the authentic...