The seat of the museum is the former Baron Frigerj's villa, which was built in around 1830 by the Neapolitan architect Enrico Riccio and was sold to the comune of Chieti. The museum was founded thanks to Valerio Cianfarani, the local soprintendenza's director, and the comune of Chieti, which sold the Frigerj residence to the State, and was inaugurated in the presence of President of the Italian RepublicGiovanni Gronchi, on 14 June 1959.
The Neoclassical building is characterized by smoothly covered brick and by windows with gables, and is surrounded by Villa comunale, Chieti's urban park. The main entrance is the former passage for the carriages to the gallery of the ground floor, which is connected to the first floor through a monumental scissor staircase supported by Doric columns.[2][3]
In addition to the Warrior of Capestrano, on the ground floor are exposed Roman and pre-Roman sculptures, Roman iconographies, a numismatic collection, and the Pansa collection. The first floor is focused on the history of four ancient peoples of Abruzzo: the Vestini, the Peligni, the Carricini, and the Marrucini.