The founder of the Museum of Merceology was Prof. Vittorio Villavecchia and the origin of the collections dates back to 1906 when the first finds were in the Central Laboratory of the Gabelle in Rome.

The Museum has followed the vicissitudes of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce, in fact it was transferred from the historic site in Piazza Borghese to via del Castro Laurenziano.

In 1980 the entire collections were re-evaluated as a cultural asset, available to the public, so as to allow access to both students and visitors interested in scientific progress in the field of instrumentation and raw materials in every sector of economic and commercial activity.

Today the Museum is spread over a total area of about 270 square meters and the finds are exhibited in a single room, but divided into sectors that can be visited following a specific path.