The museum, housed in the former hayloft of the Casa Sant’Anna, a rural residence in Villanova di Castenaso, rises exactly where, between 1853 and 1856, the Bolognese Count and archaeologist Giovanni Gozzadini discovered the most ancient traces of the Etruscan civilization.

These traces date back to a period ranging from the early first millennium b.C. (the Iron Age) to the late 9th century b.C., that was called  “the Villanovan Age” by Gozzadini himself and then used in scientific culture as well as common knowledge.

The MUV houses important archeological findings which have been recently discovered in Marano di Castenaso, including funeral equipment of aristocrats, a conclusion easily deduced from the presence of sumptuous handiwork as well as several warriors.

There is no comparison between the valuable Stele “delle spade” (the Sword Stele) and the other Villanovan Steles found: it depicts a duel between warriors, and is dominated by the figure of a lion as well as other geometrical ones.

Beside being a museum of archaelogy, the MUV is also a research centre of the Villanovan civilization, which gathers and examines the findings discovered in the territory of Castenaso.

Finally, the MUV hosts cultural events as well as didactic ones for people of all ages.