The Jérôme-Carcopino museum is located at Aléria, in Haute-Corse, on the east coast of the island.
Its vocation is in particular to present to the public the rich archaeological remains discovered in the locality.
The establishment is housed in Fort Matra, a fortified military building built by the Genoese in the 14th century which watched over the plain and the road leading to Corte.
With a square tower, Fort Matra is two levels high and includes a central patio. Originally, a cavalry detachment was stationed there.
Plundered in 1730 during a revolt, the Fort went down in history for having welcomed the first (and only) King of Corsica, Théodore de Neuhoff, who landed on the beach of Aléria in March 1736. Later, it is owned by the Matra family then devolved to the army and customs.
Listed in the Inventory in 1962, a first archaeological deposit was set up there in 1963. The museum as such opened its doors in 1978 and is managed by the Collectivity of Corsica.
The museum bears the name of the historian of Corsican origin Jérôme Carcopino who had sponsored the resumption of excavations on the ancient site of Aléria (colony and necropolis).
Upstairs, several rooms are dedicated to fifteen centuries of the history of Aléria and Corsica, from protohistory to the end of the Roman Empire. The collections of vestiges presented help to understand prehistoric and ancient Corsica, but also to apprehend the civilizations of the Mediterranean basin.
Thus, on the ground floor, archaeological treasures from the excavations of several Etruscan necropolises, including those of Casabianda (south-west of the city), are specifically highlighted. This collection has become the second after that of the Louvre, by the quality of the pieces and their scientific interest, in particular for what emerges from Etruscan civilization.
In the courtyard of the museum, you can finally see an exceptional lion statue unearthed in 1975: it "guarded" the entrance to a 4th century tomb on the archaeological site of Aléria.
Open every day from May 16 to September 30 and every day except Sunday from October 1 to May 15. Price: 3 and 4 euros. Information on +33 4 95 57 00 92.
