Adria, September 2026: the exhibition "E l'immagine prese vita" and the Heritage Days at the National Archaeological Museum
At the end of September the National Archaeological Museum of Adria lines up three good reasons to take the car or the bicycle: an exhibition on pre-cinema, the European Heritage Days with the museum stores open in the evening, and the Etruscan excavation at San Basilio open to visitors. All of it about an hour from Porto Tolle.
The exhibition: from archaeology to pre-cinema
"E l'immagine prese vita — humankind's thousand-year journey to capture movement / from archaeology to pre-cinema" runs from 9 to 27 September 2026 at the National Archaeological Museum of Adria, Via Giacomo Badini 59. The works come from the collections of Adria's Moving Image Archive and from the Museo del Precinema in Padua; the curator is Silvia Nonnato, with Sara Giacomello coordinating.
The thread of the exhibition is there in the poster: on one side the rim of a column krater from the last quarter of the sixth century BC, with a file of horsemen all moving in the same direction; on the other a nineteenth-century zoetrope which, once spun, sets those same horses running. Two and a half thousand years apart for one single idea: to hold movement still and give it back to the eye.
The exhibition was created for Adrikà, the International Archaeological Film Festival of Adria and the Po Delta, and in 1826-2026 it marks two centuries since the first image captured from life, in memory of Nicéphore Niépce. It is included in the price of museum admission.
Guided tours: ancient Adria and the sewn boat
On Saturday 19 September there are two guided tours, "Discovering ancient Adria and the sewn boat", at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the museum.
On Sunday 27 September, the closing day of the exhibition, the curator leads two tours: at 11 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.
European Heritage Days: the stores open in the evening
On Saturday 26 September, from 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m., the museum opens its storerooms for the European Heritage Days 2026: admission 1 euro. It is a chance to see what normally stays behind the display cases, in the different light and slower rhythm of an evening visit.
San Basilio: a lecture and the dig open to visitors
A few kilometres away, at Ariano nel Polesine, the San Basilio Cultural and Tourist Centre hosts two dates linked to the Etruscan excavation:
- Friday 25 September at 6.30 p.m.: lecture "San Basilio 2026-2029: a new project and a new excavation".
- Saturday 26 September at 10 a.m.: the Etruscan dig at San Basilio open to visitors, with the archaeologists at work.
Practical information
- Venue: National Archaeological Museum of Adria, Via Giacomo Badini 59, 45011 Adria (RO).
- Museum opening times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 20 September 2.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
- The exhibition is included in the price of museum admission.
- Information and bookings: telephone 0426 21612 and 392 9259875, email drm-ven.museoadria@cultura.gov.it.
- Tickets can also be bought online on the Musei Italiani portal.
National Archaeological Museum of Adria
Musei Italiani portal — tickets
Planning the day from the Delta
Adria is about an hour's drive from Porto Tolle, following the Po upstream; anyone who prefers the bicycle can plan a stretch along the levees and waterways of the Delta and keep the museum as the final stop. For the weekend of 26 September the easiest combination is the morning at the San Basilio dig and the evening in the storerooms of the Adria museum.
The levee cycle route and excursions in the Delta
Visitors from further afield can make Porto Tolle their base: a room at Albergo Italia, in Ca' Tiepolo, and back in time for dinner at RistòItalia, where the Delta fish comes from the Pila fish market.
