The museum is found in the beautiful setting of the Castle of Santa Severa, built in the Middle Ages on the ancient settlement of Pyrgi, a famous port open to the Mediterranean traffic, controlled by the Etruscan city Caere, the actual Cerveteri.

From the hall of the Visitors Centre in the museum one follows the route of "Pyrgi and the Castle of Santa Severa": a way of discovering the history of one of the most ancient ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea; an important place of worship, an Etruscan city, a Roman fortress, a castle and medieval village. A journey going back in time for more than 4000 years in a suggestive coastal scene.

The museum has workshops, a collection of videos and a library of about 400 volumes regarding the history, topography and archaeology of the Cerite-Tolfetano-Braccianese territory and also volumes about underwater and naval archaeology. From the museum one may book for guided tours, experimental archaeology labs., workshops, guided tours of the ruins of Pyrgi underwater, or by snorkelling or scuba diving, or on a transparent bottom boat.

The museum is the Head Office of an Association for a group of Councils for the Cerite System, Maritime Centre for Studies, the Archaeological group for the Cerite Territory and cultural workshops run by the Archeodromo Society.