[1] 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 Republic Giovanni 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.

[2][3] The National Museum Villa Frigerj contains most of the most important archaeological finds of Abruzzo from Prehistory to Late antiquity, including the Warrior of Capestrano, which was shown to Barack Obama during the 35th G8 summit.

The private collection, which was created by the lawyer and scholar Giovanni Pansa and donated in 1954, includes different bronze figures and other antiquities.