The Estense Lapidary Museum is a

lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas reliefs, tombston ...

-museum in Modena, Italy, located around the interior quadrangle of the ''Palazzo dei Musei's'' ground floor. It is owned by the province of Modena and the

Gallerie Estensi The Gallerie Estensi is a network of three museums and a library, bringing together the collective fruits of artistic production from Ferrara, Modena and Sassuolo in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. The galleries aim to preserve the hi ...

. As the first public museum to be commissioned by the Duke Francesco IV d'Este upon his re-entry into Modena in 1814, it stands as a symbol of the collaboration between church, state and nobility. It also marks a new direction for the city of Modena, one recognising its rich historical identity.

History

The museum was built around an initial nucleus of antique stone objects already present within the Estense collection, thanks to Alfonso II d'Este's Ferrarese antique-dealer and Renaissance humanist

Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi Rodolfo Pio da Carpi (22 February 1500 – 2 May 1564) was an Italian Cardinal, humanist and patron of the arts. The nephew of a diplomat, he himself became a diplomat by the age of thirty, and came to know both Emperor Charles V and King Fra ...

, who harboured a collection of Roman bronze coins and marble sculptures. It was later enriched with archaeological remains from the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The museum was inaugurated in 1828 by Francesco IV, with the first catalogue being written in 1830 by curator of the Museum institution Carlo Malmusi. In it, Malmusi described the museum as "a perfect testament to the Royal magnificence with which the duke's glorious ancestors used to create"C. Malmusi, in "Atti Deputazione Storia Patria Province di Modena e Parma," p. VIII, 1872, Modena.

Exhibition

The collection includes a multitude of partially and wholly complete limestone and marble stele and reliefs. Many of the exhibits are funerary monuments, notably inscribed

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

sarcophagi originating from

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. Many of the museum's corridors are dedicated to the local remains in and around Modena from 183 BC when it became the Roman military colony of ''Mutina.'' The collections also contain works transferred from Modena's cathedral (such as Wiligelmo's Romanesque sculptures) and neighbouring city churches, in the interest of preserving such antique works following the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

from 1815-1871. Museo lapidario estense

Bibliography

* Nicoletta Giordani, Giovanna, Paolozzi Strozzi, ''The Estense Lapidary Museum'', Modena 2003. * Nicoletta Giordani, Giovanna, Paolozzi Strozzi (edited by) ''Museo Lapidario Estense. General catalogue'', Venice 2005.

Sources

{{Authority control Archaeological museums in Italy Museums in Modena 1828 establishments in Italy Museums established in 1828

History

Exhibition

See also

Bibliography

Sources