Housed in the seventeenth-century monastery of Santa Chiara, in the historic center of the city, the Archaeological Museum collects finds from the prehistoric age up to the Middle Ages from the territory of ancient Venafrum . Opened to the public in 1931 with a small exhibition of archaeological material, it was used as an asylum for displaced persons during the Second World War. It has reopened to the public since 1996 with a new and more extensive layout. The ancient history of the city unfolds across the two floors of the museum, which from an important Samnite settlement became one of the most flourishing centers in the region in Roman times, famous in particular for the production of oil.

The richness of the Roman Venafrum is attested by the decorations of the monumental buildings and patrician residences: frescoes, mosaics, colored marbles and above all the statues, including the famous Venus of Venafro . In the sector dedicated to the medieval era, the chessmen of Venafro are of particular importance. built more than a thousand years ago during the Arab domination of the city and considered among the oldest in Europe. A wing, recently set up, preserves the findings of the monastic complex of San Vincenzo al Volturno, considered one of the most important Benedictine sites of the early medieval.