The National Archaeological Museum of Venice is a state museum that exhibits sculptures of classical Greek and Roman art, bronzes, ceramics, gems and coins, and a small collection of Egyptian and Assyrian-Babylonian antiquities.

The National Archaeological Museum, with a strong collector's character, is mainly constituted by materials from private collections of distinguished Venetian families, donated to the city starting from the 16th century.

The origins of the museum, in fact, date back to the testamentary bequest of Domenico Grimani and the donation of his nephew Giovanni, respectively in 1523 and 1587, by virtue of which a large part of their ancient sculptures (over two hundred) came to the Venetian State, forming the Public Statuary.

A typical expression of Renaissance taste, the Statuary was set up in 1596 in the Antisala of the Library of San Marco; further donations enriched it during the 17th and 18th centuries, until, in 1812, by edict of Eugenio de Beauharnais, all the marbles were transferred to the Ducal Palace.