The present-day National Museum of Roman Art replaced the old Archaeological Museum of Mérida, which had been created by Order in Council on March 26, 1838.
The present-day museum, the work of Rafael Moneo Vallés, was inaugurated on September 19, 1986, as a key exponent of the Romanisation of Hispania explained through the finds obtained at Mérida's archaeological sites.
It is a centre for research into and diffusion of Roman culture, where conferences, colloquiums, lectures, courses, exhibitions and many other national and international events take place.