The Crypta Balbi is the most recent venue of the National Roman Museum.

Inaugurated in 2001, Crypta Balbi is located on the site of the archaeological excavations that brought to light the portico of the theater of Lucius Balbus, which gives the complex its name, as well as artifacts related to the life of the block, outlining the history of the urban landscape from antiquity to the Middle Ages.

The uniqueness of the Crypta Balbi museum, which is spread over two floors, is due to the fact that it is located on the same archaeological area. The museum, set up in the restored rooms of the building complex that arose from the Middle Ages on the Crypta of Balbus, is divided into two sections that illustrate, respectively, the transformations of a central sector of the urban landscape from antiquity to the 20th century and the evolution of urban culture between the 5th and 9th centuries.

On the ground floor, the archaeology and history of the Balbus complex and the nearby Porticus Minucia Frumentaria, where grain was distributed to citizens, are recounted, with a diachronic view of urban history from Roman times to the 20th century. The first floor is dedicated to the most recent archaeological investigations that have revealed a complex of residential buildings outside the Crypta Balbi, built after a fire in 80 AD devastated the area. The buildings, houses, and shops underwent many transformations until they were definitively abandoned in the 7th century AD.

The second floor illustrates the transformations of the city from the 4th to the 9th century, with in-depth analysis of aspects of material and artistic culture. This narrative was made possible thanks to the large quantity and variety of artifacts recovered from the excavations, as well as materials from other archaeological investigations carried out in Rome and historical collections of Roman museums.

In the underground areas, it is possible to visit the archaeological remains found in the cellars of the buildings on Via delle Botteghe Oscure. In the external archaeological area, it is possible to visit the remains of the Santa Caterina Convent washhouse, the exedra of the Crypta Balbi, and the district that lies behind it.