The place is the former Orphan Conservatory in Terra Murata, the ancient heart of Procida.
The name, combined with that of the Civic Museum of Procida, belongs to the Sicilian archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa, to whom it was decided to pay homage after his premature death, in consideration of his decisive contribution, as professor of palethnology at the “Suor Orsola Benincasa” University of Naples, to reveal the important ancient history of the islands of Procida and Vivara. The exhibition itinerary, which winds along the ground floor of the building, is divided into three sections that illustrate the geological peculiarities of Procida, its most ancient and most modern history, both strongly linked to the sea. The heritage, of great historical-scientific value, also includes the finds from the Mycenaean settlements of Vivara, on display to the public for the first time. All the result of the collaboration established since 2017 between the Municipality and the Universities "Federico II" and "SuorOrsola Benincasa", at the conclusion of the intense geological and archaeological research activity carried out since 1976 between Procida and Vivara.
The Environment Section
The itinerary starts from the section dedicated to the geomorphological characteristics of Procida and Vivara, which were originally united in a single volcanic island. To tell the origin and the progressive transformation of the island/islands are the rock samples and the geological map of the territory elaborated by the "Federico II", with attention also to the flora and fauna of Vivara.
The Ancient History Section
The part of the knowledge path that deals with the most remote period of human presence on the island, chosen by the Mycenaean sailors between the 17th and 16th centuries BC, is decidedly broad and full of testimonies. for its strategic position along the routes to Sardinia and the other raw material procurement sites in the central-northern Tyrrhenian Sea. The finds recovered in the various settlements that came to light and explored starting from 1933 are on display. At that time it was the young Giorgio Buchner, who would later link his name to the discovery of Pithekoussai, who identified a prehistoric village at Punta Capitello connected to another coeval in the Castiglione area, on the neighboring island of Ischia. The excavation campaigns conducted since the 1990s, under the direction of Sebastiano Tusa and Federico Marazzi, highlighted other villages at Punta d'Alaca and Punta Mezzogiorno and as many as thirty-two sites along the coast of Procida/Vivara, which have since sunk for about fifteen meters. From those researches come very refined ceramic objects, produced in Greece and in the East, from small unguentariums with perfumes and cosmetics to the large "pithoi", embarked on ships to transport foodstuffs. There is no shortage of metal artifacts, which indicate that Vivara was not only an emporium for imported goods, but also a place for metalworking. And the building materials, with local tuff tiles, as well as the characteristic tokiens, examples of protowriting used for inventories and commercial transactions.
An exhibition of materials accompanied by 3D reconstructions of the villages and contexts in which the various finds have come to light.
The Sea Section
It illustrates the special relationship with the sea, which the Procidans have always kept strong and alive over the centuries, traveling by expert sailors on all routes in all the seas of the planet. A nice journey through the documents that tell the Procidan navy especially between the 17th and 19th centuries, with many ancient objects donated to the museum by island families.
A restoration laboratory is also active at the museum, used for the finds recovered during the various excavation campaigns.
