The Antiquarium Arborense was established in 1938, following an initiative by the Town Council Administration which approved the purchase of the Pischedda archaeological collection, one of the largest in Sardinia. It was housed in the premises in via Vittorio Emanuele (current day via Ciutadela de Minorca) until 1992.
Following the renovation of the Palazzo Parpaglia complex, the museum established itself in one of the most important historical palaces in Oristano spread across two floors.
The ground floor houses temporary exhibitions and a part of the archaeological collection. On the first floor we find, not only the archaeological section, but two plastic models: one reproducing the city of Oristano in the XIV century (Judicate period) and the plastic model of the city of Tharros in the IV century AD. Pictorial tables from the fifth-sixth centuries are on display in the restored hall.
