Official Information
Official website: https://www.centralemontemontini.org/en
Online tickets: https://www.centralemontemartini.org/en/informazioni_pratiche/biglietti
Address: Via Ostiense 106, 00154 Roma RM, Italy
Map: View on Google Maps
Opening Hours
From Tuesday to Sunday 09:00–19:00. On 24 and 31 December 09:00–14:00. On 1 January 2025 11:00–20:00. Closed on Mondays, 1 May and 25 December. Last admission one hour before closing. Check the Practical Information and Tickets sections on the official website for current updates.
Centrale Montemartini is one of Rome’s most striking museum spaces, a former early twentieth-century power station converted into a branch of the Capitoline Museums. Located along Via Ostiense in a once-industrial district, the building preserves its massive turbines, boilers and steel structures. Among and around these machines, marble statues, reliefs and mosaics from ancient Rome are displayed in carefully lit galleries. The juxtaposition of white classical sculpture against dark iron and enamel makes for dramatic views that are very different from traditional archaeological museums.
The collection itself comes from the wider Capitoline holdings and includes portraits, mythological statues, architectural fragments and decorative pieces from various periods of Roman history. Some works were moved here temporarily in the 1990s during renovations at the main Capitoline complex and proved so successful in this setting that the museum became permanent. Visitors can trace themes such as the development of public monuments, decoration of Roman houses and villas, and the use of mythological imagery in everyday contexts. Interpretive panels explain not only the ancient works but also the history of the power plant and its role in Rome’s early electrification.
Because Centrale Montemartini is a little outside the usual tourist core, it tends to be quieter, which allows for unhurried viewing and photography. The building’s high ceilings and large windows create dramatic shafts of light that change during the day, adding to the atmosphere. The official website of the Capitoline museum system provides practical details on opening hours, ticket prices, reduced rates for residents and combined tickets with other civic museums, as well as information on temporary exhibitions and any maintenance-related closures. For travellers interested in both industrial archaeology and classical art, Centrale Montemartini offers one of the most original museum experiences in Rome.