The Archaeological Museum of Sirmione is located within the archaeological area of the Grottoes of Catullus.
It houses evidence of the town’s most ancient history, from the objects recovered in the submerged pile dwellings along the coasts of the peninsula and those found in the numerous excavations of the Roman and medieval periods.
Among the materials from the Grottoes of Catullus, the fragments of the fresco decoration that enriched the residential rooms of the villa stand out.
A part of the fresco representing a togated male figure holding a scroll, believed to be the image of a poet, is perhaps a portrait of Catullus. The hypothesis is based on comparison with a similar depiction in the House with Library of Pompeii which, according to tradition, represents the Veronese poet.
The Archaeological Museum of the Caves also preserves the architectural remains belonging to the monastery of San Salvatore, built during the Lombard domination.
Other important testimonies of the Lombard presence in Sirmione are the funerary objects found in the necropolis discovered on the site of the Roman villa near the church of San Pietro in Mavino.
The Archaeological Museum of Sirmione was opened to the public in 1999 to replace the previous small Antiquarium.
