The museum’s collection are subdivided into 59 sections, laid out over 12,000 square metres. The rooms are 10 metres high and the total wall space is more than 3 kilometres.
The first 14 rooms tell the complete story of the history of Rome, from its origins to the VIth century AD; following on from this is the section devoted to Christianity.
The complex which houses the museum was designed by the architects Aschieri, Bernardini, Pascoletti and Peressutti, who won one of the public competitions for the most outstanding buildings at the Universal Exhibition of Rome in 1942. Among the designers, Pietro Aschieri was pre-eminent, and in the creation of a majestic and magniloquent structure, was able fully to express his ideas, inspired by a classicism mixed with scenography.