Designing a museum exhibit means finding a balance between
artifact preservation,
scientific storytelling and
visitor experience. It is from this principle that the intervention created by Saglietti Group for the
Archaeological Museum of Bene Vagienna, where we oversaw the installation of two new rooms dedicated to the civil basilica of ancient Augusta Bagiennorum.
The museum, housed in the 18th-century
Lucerna Palace in Rorà, tells the story of one of the main urban centers of southern Piedmont in the imperial age, founded under Augustus at the end of the first century BC. The expanded exhibition space is part of the cross-border project
P.E.P.A. - Patrimoine Environnemental / Environmental Heritage., dedicated to the enhancement of archaeological and landscape heritage.
The staging project
The work involved two new exhibition halls on the second floor of the museum, opening in June 2024. The project was developed in collaboration with architect Michele Bossio (
A&T Progetti srl), through a constant dialogue between architectural and exhibition design.
Room A introduces visitors to the excavation activities and construction of the basilica. The space is organized around a large
double-sided vitrine that visually connects the two rooms, flanked by infographic walls and a partition wall with an
integrated monitor that creates an area dedicated to stopping and exploring. One of the main design challenges was the presence of a pillar and a
difference in height between the rooms, which was solved with custom-made furniture capable of integrating both elements and restoring continuity to the path.
Room B, on the other hand, delves into the
architectural finishes of the basilica and the objects of daily life. Here the vitrine continues with a taller plexiglass dome to house larger artifacts, while in the center of the room a freestanding vitrine narrates the ceramic and metal materials found during the excavation. The tour concludes with a
floor installation that collects fragments of the basilica floor under a large laminated safety glass.
A team project
The intervention resulted from the joint work between designers, museum and technical team. Special thanks go to architect
Michele Bossio for the design comparison and to the
Archaeological Museum of Bene Vagienna for the trust and vision with which it chose to invest in an exhibit capable of bringing archaeology and contemporary design into dialogue.
