Originally the Crypta Balbi was a wide portico connected to the theater that Lucius Balbus built at the time of Augustus.

Over the centuries the Crypta Balbi was used for various purposes: as a store, a workshop, a convent connected to the church of Santa Caterina dei Funari and today, as a museum that displays artifacts that come from several ongoing excavations, as well as various collections like the Kircherian, Gorga and Betti ones. Twenty years of digs show the many transformations this monument has been put through. The Crypta Balbi Museum comprises of three levels and contains artifacts that attest the different activities that took place here from the ancient times to the Middle Ages. We will see a rich collection of jewelry, pottery, work tools, as well as many different models that will show us how the city's landscape has changed over the centuries. We will also visit the Crypta Balbi's exedra, a small section of the Porticus Minucia and a Temple dedicated to the god Mithras.

The visit include : the Crypta Balbi Museum. Visits are available every day except on Mondays. Entrance to the museum 9,00 euro per person (price includes entrance to Palazzo Massimo and Palazzo Altemps).