Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas (Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum), Palermo

The Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum, located in Palermo, stands as a prestigious repository of Punic and Ancient Greek art, alongside extensive collections detailing Sicilian history. Named after the eminent archaeologist and numismatist Antonino Salinas, who served as its director from 1873 until he died in 1914 and left his substantial private collection to the museum, it forms an integral part of Palermo's Olivella monumental complex. This complex also includes the Church of Sant'Ignazio all'Olivella and the Oratory, originally belonging to the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri.

The museum's building, an architectural venture begun in the late sixteenth century by Antonio Muttone, was originally intended for the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri and completed in the seventeenth century. Following the suppression of religious orders in 1866, the building was confiscated and repurposed as a museum.

Throughout its history, the museum has faced numerous challenges, including moving its collection to the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale during WWII to avoid bomb damage. After the war, it was extensively redeveloped by architect William De Angelis D'Ossat. Since July 2011, the museum has been closed for renovations, reopening only the first floor in May 2022.

The museum's ground floor boasts an impressive array of underwater artifacts and antiquities from various periods ranging from Phoenician to Roman. Key exhibits include two significant Phoenician sarcophagi, sculptures of deities, and votive stelae. Additionally, it houses important fragments from the archaeological site of Selinunte, as well as notable artifacts from other significant Sicilian sites such as Himera, Solunto, and Agrigento.

The Palermo stone, a fragment of an ancient Egyptian stelae, highlights the museum's oldest collection, initially acquired in 1814. This collection has grown over the centuries, significantly enhanced by private collections either purchased or donated, including a renowned Etruscan collection considered the most important outside of Tuscany.