The Linguella was never intended for civilian homes, but used as warehouses and warehouses. The rooms that now house the Civic Archaeological Museum were at the beginning of the sixteenth century. salt warehouses, subsequently warehouses of the trap and place of conservation of tuna; they were then transformed into a prison during the Lorraine period. The Civic Museum was established by the City Council in 1981, inaugurated in 1985 on the occasion of the great exhibition on Mining Etruria and definitively opened in 1988. Consisting of two rooms, one on the ground floor and the other on the first floor, it exhibits ordered archaeological finds according to a historical-topographical line edited by the archaeologists of the Department of Archaeological Sciences of the University of Pisa, led by Prof. Orlanda Pancrazzi. The chronological arc included here goes from the end of the 8th - beginning of the 7th century BC up to the 5th century AD. The large collection of Elban and Archipelago materials is exhibited in showcases accompanied by didactic panels that introduce the vision of the individual pieces, pointing out their main characteristics, chronology and historical significance. Other showcases dedicate space to topics related to the economy of Elba (iron minerals) or to the maritime trade of wine and the description of the ships in their parts. The numerous amphorae with their contents help to reconstruct the trade in foodstuffs while contributing at the same time to a better understanding of the objects themselves. A rare and curious piece is the iron anchor of the Montecristo wreck on which the marine concretions have fixed numerous black-painted bowls and vessels from the on-board suppl-litter. Another valuable piece, the Ara di Attiano in granite from the 1st century AD, found near the granite quarries of Seccheto, dedicated to Ercole da Attiano, perhaps prefect of the praetorium of the emperor Hadrian. On the front it bears a dedicatory inscription: "P. ACILIUS ATTIANUS PRAEF. PR. HERCULI SANCTO D.D.". A club (attribute of Hercules) sculpted in relief completes the dedication while, again sculpted in relief, a spear and a shield decorate the back. Some showcases are dedicated to the display of the most valuable materials of the Mellini and Foresi Civic Collections.
