The spaces of the former Habsburg San Tomaso barracks are dedicated to the National Archaeological Museum of Verona, where the very rich evidence from archaeological research carried out in the city of Verona and in the Verona area is housed, articulated over a period of time ranging from prehistory to protohistory, Celtic phase, to Romanization, up to the Roman-imperial age.

The seat, court and military prison, was built by the Austrian administration, when the political events following the Carbonari revolts made it necessary to detain an ever-increasing number of people. The complex, adjacent to the church of S. Tomaso Cantuariense, is divided into three buildings, organized around the internal courtyard, and consists of three floors and an attic. The building represents one of the best preserved examples of Austrian civil architecture in the city.

The exhibition itinerary of the Prehistory and Protohistory section narrates the main historical moments of the Verona area, between 200,000 years ago and 100 BC

In general, the exhibition itinerary is divided into a series of subsections dedicated to the main eras of prehistory-protohistory of the Verona area, from the Paleolithic (represented by the famous painted stone, known as the "Shaman", coming from the Grotta di Fumane), passing through the Neolithic and the Copper Age, up to the Bronze Age, with the exhibition of materials from the UNESCO pile-dwelling sites of the Verona area, and the Iron Age.

The aim is to make people perceive the educational role of this territory with respect to the urban center of Verona, whose birth is the result of a long-lasting historical journey.

The set-up develops in a unilinear way and without interference, starting from the orientation room (accessible from the staircase and the lift) through the different rooms of the two arms of the third floor (from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age) until it flows into the third arm (dedicated to the Iron Age).