The museum, designed with glass and travertine, showcases over five thousand artifacts that narrate the history of central Sicily from the Early Copper Age to the Late Roman Empire. The display cases guide visitors along a path that begins with prehistoric villages, continues through the indigenous centers of Gibil Gabib and Sabucina—perched above the Salso River and Hellenized by Gela—and reaches the poleis of Vassallaggi and Capodarso, where Sicel culture embraced red-figure ceramics, Gnathian skyphoi and lekanides, kore statuettes, and female terracotta busts from the 6th century BC. Grave goods with oinochoai, loom weights, and fibulae illustrate daily life, while interactive screens reconstruct mosaics and inscriptions from Roman villas in the area. In the hall of votive deposits shine bronze statuettes of warriors, sacred astragali, and above all a gilded silver phiale from Sabucina, witness to refined exchanges with the craftsmanship of Magna Graecia.
Tactile paths and bilingual captions make the visit inclusive; outside, a didactic garden displays a ceramic kiln and a lever press evoking the ancient agricultural landscape. Unique in Sicily for exhibiting only materials from indigenous centers of its own territory, the museum also hosts exhibitions and workshops. A stop here, before climbing up to the archaeological sites along the ridge, offers the key to understanding the intertwining of cultures that shaped the heart of the island.