Among Europe’s most ancient public museums, the Maffeian Lapidary Museum was founded in 1745 by one of Verona’s most illustrious figures, Scipione Maffei, whose personal collection formed the basis for the museum’s holdings - including collections of Greek, Etruscan, Paleo-Veneta and Roman, as well as Arab epigraphs)
Located on a site within the antique walls that join Piazza Bra and Castelvecchio, the Museum was conceived as a sort of access garden to the Philharmonic Academy. Since 1612, the Academy had acquired some 28 epigraphs which were displayed in the courtyard in front of its building.
The initial transformation of this collection into an established museum was due to the efforts of Scipione Maffei. The Museum was subsequently acquired by the city in 1883 and equipped following the modern standards in 1982.