The National Archaeological Museum of Mantua was inaugurated in 1998 in the same place that was the Teatro di Corte dei Gonzaga in the sixteenth century. From 1896 it was the city market for silkworms, as expressed in the facade of the museum. The Museum houses a permanent collection rich in testimonies and history: prehistory, protohistory, Neolithic, Roman archeology up to the Middle Ages. The Museum constitutes an important section of the history of the Mantua area. Among the most famous works that are preserved here we remember: the lovers of Mantua. The lovers were found in 2007 in Valdaro and immediately struck for their emotional impact. The two young men, about 20 - 22 years of age, were laid together around 5500 - 5100 years ago, with a funerary outfit of flint tools. Lovers form the heart of the permanent exhibition on the first floor of the Museum, dedicated to the Prehistory and Protohistory of the Mantuan territory. The Archaeological Museum is part of the Doge's Palace.