Designed by Franco Minissi, and built in the early 1970s, theAntiquarium was inaugurated in 1984. In theAntiquarium The most significant archaeological finds from the excavations in Himera and other sites in the hinterland of Imera are on display. The exhibition space is divided into four levels, connected by ramps, and develops along an itinerary that traces the main historical and cultural issues of the Greek colony. From the great Sanctuary of Athena in the upper town, where several sacred buildings were constructed, come the materials discovered in Temple A, including the exceptional gold plate with a running Gorgon and the bronze statuettes of Athena and the offerer.
The museum also offers an overview of the different types of materials discovered in the Imerese houses, from everyday objects (amphorae, kitchen vases, oil lamps) to more valuable finds, such as terracotta statuettes and busts, arule (domestic altars), louteria (large terracotta basins). The lower level is dedicated to the necropolis from which many transport amphorae come, reused as tombs for children and babies.
The territory is represented by some significant finds coming from Terravecchia di Cuti, an indigenous Hellenized Sicilian settlement, from Monte Riparato, located near Caltavuturo, where a particularly flourishing indigenous center was in existence in the early Hellenistic period (second half IV - first half III century BC), from the center of Mura Pregne / Brucato, located near Himera, from the prehistoric age to the Hellenistic age and still in the Middle Ages.
A small section is reserved for underwater archeology and some display cases display the objects of the kits of the Hellenistic necropolis of the ancient center of Cefalù (Kephaloidion).
The exhibition closes with the mosaic of Settefrati, in the territory of Cefalù, where a Roman maritime villa was located, whose wealth is attested by the discovery of a polychrome mosaic of the mid-imperial age.
Since 2010, the Phiale Aurea of Caltavuturo (4th-3rd centuries BC), an exceptional archaeological find of high artistic value, made even more famous by the long and troubled judicial enquiry that led to its recovery. The Phiale (votive cup) is made of solid gold, entirely decorated by embossing and engraving, with a delicate motif consisting of acorns, beech, bees and plant elements. Its function is mainly related to libations and offerings to deities during religious rites.
The Pirro Marconi Museum, inaugurated in 2016, is dedicated in part to the excavations in the western necropolis and partly to the Temple of Victory and to the excavations carried out over the years in the area around the sacred building.
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