The Museum of the Roman Civilization (Italian: ''Museo della Civiltà Romana'') is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(

Esposizione Universale Roma EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, part of the Municipio IX. The area was originally chosen in the 1930s as the site for the 1942 World's Fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism, ...

district), devoted to aspects of the Ancient Roman Civilization. The museum has been closed for renovation since 2014.

History and general introduction

It was designed by the architects Pietro Ascheri, D. Bernardini and Cesare Pascoletti''The Buildings of Europe: Rome'', section 191, Christopher Woodward, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1995, (1939–1941). Its 59 sections illustrate the history of Roman civilization, from the origins to the 4th century, with models and reproductions, as well as original material. The premises are shared with a

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

It houses, among other things: * a model of Archaic Rome (Room XVIII) * a scale model of ancient Rome in the age of

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

Italo Gismondi Italo Gismondi (August 12, 1887 in Rome, Italy – December 2, 1974 in Rome) was an Italian archaeologist. He entered the Amministrazione delle Antichità e Belle Arti in 1910 and was named Director of the Ostia excavations where he remain ...

(Room XXXVII-XXXVIII), derived from the

Forma Urbis Romae The ''Forma Urbis Romae'' or Severan Marble Plan is a massive marble map of ancient Rome, created under the emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211. Matteo Cadario gives specific years of 205–208, noting that the map was based on pro ...

map and integrated with archeological discoveries. This model is at a 1:250 scale and is made of

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

. The model was begun in 1935 and completed in 1971. This model is today the most important reference for any serious attempt of reconstruction of the Ancient Rome: it has been used for the "Rome Reborn 1.0" 3D Visualization Project (B. Frischer, Director, University of Virginia; D. Favro, Associate Director, UCLA; D. Abernathy, Director of 3D Modeling, University of Virginia; G. Guidi, Director of 3D Scanning, Politecnico di Milano). Gismondi's model can be seen also in a few shots of

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

's ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

''. * examples of late imperial and

early Christian art Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, id ...

* a complete sequence of casts of the spiral reliefs round

Trajan's Column Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Ap ...

, arranged in horizontal rows at ground level to facilitate reading. * a reconstructed Roman library based on that in the

Villa Adriana Hadrian's Villa ( it, Villa Adriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large Roman villa, villa complex built c. AD 120 by Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli, Italy, Tivoli outside Rome. The site is ...

at Tivoli The museum was closed for renovation in January 2014. Work on the renovation was started in June 2017; as of November 2019, no date has been announced for the reopening.

Structure

There are three main different itineraries through the rooms of the museum: * Historical sections * Thematic sections * Model of Imperial Rome

Historical sections

*Room V-VI: Roman Legends and Primitive Culture - the origins of Rome *Room VII: The conquest of the Mediterranean *Room VIII: Caesar *Room IX: Augustus ** Lifesize copy of the pronaos of the

Monumentum Ancyranum Temple of Augustus and Rome is an augusteum located in Altındağ district of Ankara. It is thought to have been built around 25–20 AD. Besides being one of the most important Roman period ruins in the city, it is also known for ''Monumentum A ...

, the Temple of Augustus and Rome, Ankara, Turkey, including the ''

Res Gestae Divi Augusti ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (Eng. ''The Deeds of the Divine Augustus'') is a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The ''Res Gestae'' is especially sig ...

'' inscription ** Scale reconstruction model (1:100) of the

Theatre of Marcellus The Theatre of Marcellus ( la, Theatrum Marcelli, it, Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances o ...

, Rome ** Scale reconstruction model (1:20) of the

Tropaeum Alpium The Tropaeum Alpium (Latin 'Trophy of the Alps', French: ''Trophée des Alpes''), is a Roman trophy (''tropaeum'') celebrating the emperor Augustus's decisive victory over the tribes who populated the Alps. The monument's ruins are in La Turbi ...

in La Turbie, France ** Scale reconstruction model (1:200) of the

Pont du Gard The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge built in the first century AD to carry water over to the Roman colony of ''Nemausus'' ( Nîmes). It crosses the river Gardon near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France. The Pont ...

, Nîmes, France *Room X: The family of Augustus and the Julio-Claudian emperors *Room XI: The Flavian Dynasty *Room XII: Trajan and Hadrian *Room XIII: The emperors from Antoninus Pius to the Severans *Room XIV: The emperors from Macrinus to Justinian *Room XV: Christianity *Room XVI: The army *Room XVIII: Model of archaic Rome

Thematic sections

*Room XXXVI: School *Room XXXIX: Living spaces *Room XLVI: Rights *Room XLVII: Libraries *Room XLVIII: Music *Room XLIX: Literature and science *Room L: Medicine and drugs *Room LI: Trajan's Column *Room LII: Industry and craft *Room LIII: Agriculture, herding and land management *Room LIV: Hunting, fishing and food *Room LV: Commerce and economic life *Room LVI: Art of rome

Model of Imperial Rome

*Room XXXVII-XXXVIII: Model of Imperial Rome (in the age of

)

Appearance in popular culture

In the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

'', the marble colonnade of the museum doubled as a cemetery after the ''Archconfraternity of the Departed'' confraternity barred the filming of a funeral scene at the

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

cemetery. The music video of the song "Cruel Summer" by group Ace of Base was also filmed at this location in 1998.

References

External links

Model of Archaic Rome
* {{authority control Museums in Rome Museums established in 1955 Museums of ancient Rome in Italy Museums of Dacia Dacia in art Rome Q. XXXII Europa 1955 establishments in Italy