The National Roman Museum (Italian: ''Museo Nazionale Romano'') is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of
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 ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological findings from the period of
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
.
History
Founded in 1889 and inaugurated in 1890, the museum's first aim was to collect and exhibit archaeologic materials unearthed during the excavations after the union of Rome with the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
.
The initial core of its collection originated from the
Kircherian Museum
The Kircherian Museum was a public collection of antiquities and artifacts, a cabinet of curiosities, founded in 1651 by the Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher in the Roman College. Considered the first museum in the world, its collections were grad ...
, archaeologic works assembled by the
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
and
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest,
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans ...
, which previously had been housed within the Jesuit complex of
Sant'Ignazio la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio
, image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio
, mapframe =yes
, mapframe-caption ...
. The collection was appropriated by the state in 1874, after the suppression of the Society of Jesus. Renamed initially as the Royal Museum, the collection was intended to be moved to a ''Museo Tiberino'' (Tiberine Museum), which was never completed.
In 1901 the Italian state granted the National Roman Museum the recently acquired
Collection Ludovisi
Collection or Collections may refer to:
* Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department
* Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service
* Collection agency, agency to collect cash
* Collections ...
as well as the important national collection of Ancient Sculpture. Findings during the urban renewal of the late 19th century added to the collections.
In 1913, a ministerial decree sanctioned the division of the collection of the ''Museo Kircheriano'' among all the different museums that had been established over the last decades, such as the National Roman Museum, the
National Etruscan Museum
The National Etruscan Museum ( it, Museo Nazionale Etrusco) is a museum of the Etruscan civilization, housed in the Villa Giulia in Rome, Italy.
History
The villa was built for Pope Julius III, for whom it was named. It remained in papal prope ...
of Villa Giulia and the Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo.
Its seat was established in the charterhouse designed and realised in the 16th century by
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
within the
Baths of Diocletian
, alternate_name = it, Terme di Diocleziano
, image = Baths of Diocletian-Antmoose1.jpg
, caption = Baths of Diocletian, with the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri built in the remains of the baths.
, map_dot_ ...
, which currently houses the epigraphic and the protohistoric sections of the modern museum, while the main collection of ancient art was moved to the nearby Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, acquired by the Italian state in 1981.
The reconversion of the area of the ancient bath/charterhouse into an exhibition space began on the occasion of the
International Exhibition of Art of 1911; this effort was completed in the 1930s.
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
History of the building
The palace was built on the site once occupied by the
Villa Montalto-Peretti, named after
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
, who had been born Francesco Peretti. The present building was commissioned by Prince Massimiliano Massimo, so as to give a seat to the Jesuit
Collegio Romano
The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...
, originally within the convent of the church of Sant'Ignazio. In 1871, the Collegio had been ousted from the convent by the government which converted it into the ''Liceo Visconti'', the first public secular high school of Italy. Erected between 1883 and 1887 by the architect
Camillo Pistrucci
Camillo is an Italian masculine given name, descended from Latin Camillus. Its Slavic languages, Slavic cognate is Kamil.
People with the name include:
*Camillo Agrippa, Italian Renaissance fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician
*Camillo ...
in a ''
neo-cinquecentesco'' style, it was one of the most prestigious schools of Rome until 1960. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, it was partially used as a military hospital, but it then returned to scholastic functions until the 1960s, when the school was moved to a newer seat in the EUR quarter.
In 1981, when the palace was lying in a state of neglect, the Italian government acquired it for 19 billion lire and granted it to the National Roman Museum. Its restoration and adaptation began in 1983 and was completed in 1998. The palazzo eventually became the main seat of the museum as well as the headquarters of the ''Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma'' (Agency of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities of Italy, in charge for the archaeological heritage of Rome). The museum houses the ancient art (sculpture, painting, mosaic work and goldsmith's craft from the Republican Age to the Late Antiquity) as well as the numismatic collection, housed in the ''Medagliere'', i.e. the coin cabinet.
Ground floor and first floor
The ground floor features the notable bronze statues of the ''
Boxer at Rest
The ''Boxer at Rest'', also known as the ''Terme Boxer'', ''Seated Boxer'', ''Defeated Boxer'', or ''Boxer of the Quirinal'', is a Hellenistic Greek bronze sculpture of a sitting nude boxer at rest, still wearing his himantes ( grc, ἱμάντε ...
'' and the ''Athlete''.
One room is devoted to the
mummy
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...
that was found in 1964 on the
Via Cassia
The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed throug ...
, inside a richly decorated
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
with several
artefacts in
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
and pieces of
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
also on display. Sculptures of the period between the late
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
and the early
imperial period (2nd century BC to 1st century AD), include
*Tivoli General
*
Tiber Apollo
The Tiber Apollo is an over lifesize marble sculpture of Apollo, a Hadrianic or Antonine Roman marble copy after a bronze Greek original of about 450 BCE. Dredged from the bed of the Tiber in Rome, in making piers for the Ponte Garibaldi (1885, ...
*
Via Labicana Augustus
The ''Via Labicana Augustus'' is a sculpture of the Roman emperor Augustus as '' Pontifex Maximus'', with his head veiled for a sacrifice. The statue is dated as having been made after 12 BCE. It was found on slopes of the Oppian Hill, in the Via ...
*
Aphrodite of Menophantos
The Aphrodite of Menophantos is a Roman marble statue of the goddess Venus. Its design takes the form of "Venus Pudica", based on another statue, the Capitoline Venus. It was found at the Camaldolese monastery of San Gregorio al Celio in Rom ...
*
Hermes Ludovisi from Anzio
*
Torlonia Vase
The Torlonia Vase or Cesi-Albani-Torlonia Vase is a colossal and celebrated neo-Attic Roman white marble vase, tall, made in the 1st century BCE, which has passed through several prominent collections of antiquities before coming into the possess ...
*
Sleeping Hermaphroditus
The ''Sleeping Hermaphroditus'' is an ancient marble sculpture depicting Hermaphroditus life size. In 1620, Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpted the mattress upon which the statue now lies. The form is partly derived from ancient portray ...
*
Dionysus Sardanapalus
*
Portonaccio sarcophagus
The Portonaccio sarcophagus is a 2nd-century ancient Roman sarcophagus found in the Portonaccio section of Rome and now held at the Museo Nazionale Romano ( Palazzo Massimo). Dating to around 180 AD, the sarcophagus was likely used to bury a Roman ...
Second floor
Frescoes, stuccoes and mosaics, including those from the
villa of Livia
The Villa of Livia ( la, Ad Gallinas Albas) is an ancient Roman villa at Prima Porta, north of Rome, Italy, along the Via Flaminia. It may have been part of Livia Drusilla's dowry that she brought when she married Octavian (later called the emper ...
, wife of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, at
Prima Porta
Prima Porta is the 58th ''Zones of Rome, zona'' of Rome, identified by the initials Z. LVIII. The name Prima Porta (First Door) came from an arch of the aqueduct that brought water to the Villa of Livia, which formed over Via Flaminia a sort of ga ...
on the
Via Flaminia
The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had ...
. It begins with the summer
triclinium
A ''triclinium'' (plural: ''triclinia'') is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek ()—from (), "three", and (), a sort of couch or rather chaise longue. Each couch was sized to accommodate a diner who ...
of Livia's ''Villa ad Gallinas Albas''. The frescoes, discovered in 1863 and dating back to the 1st century BC, show a luscious garden with ornamental plants and
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
trees.
Basement
The Museum's numismatic collection is the largest in Italy. Among the coins on exhibit are
Theodoric
Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths.
Overview
The name ...
’s
medallion
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
, the four
ducats
The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...
of
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States
from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...
with the
navicella of
St Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
, and the silver
piastre
The piastre or piaster () is any of a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for "thin metal plate". The name was applied to Spanish and Hispanic American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venice, Venetian traders in the ...
of the
Pontifical State
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from ...
with views of the city of
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 ...
.
Palazzo Altemps
History of the building
![Dionysos satyr Altemps Inv8606](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Dionysos_satyr_Altemps_Inv8606.jpg)
The building was designed in the 15th century by
Melozzo da Forlì
Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 8 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. His fresco paintings are notable for the use of foreshortening. He was the most important member of the Forlì painting school.
Biography
...
for
Girolamo Riario
Girolamo Riario (1443 – 14 April 1488) was Lord of Imola (from 1473) and Forlì (from 1480). He served as Captain General of the Church under his uncle Pope Sixtus IV. He took part in the 1478 Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici, and was assas ...
, a relation of
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
. There is still a fresco on one wall of the rooms in the palazzo that celebrates the wedding of Girolamo to
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. Caterina was a noblewoman who lived a li ...
in 1477, showing the silver plates and other wedding gifts given to the couple. When the Riario family began to decline after the death of
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
, the palazzo was sold to Cardinal
Francesco Soderini Francesco di Tommaso Soderini (10 June 1453 – 17 May 1524) was a major diplomatic and Church figure of Renaissance Italy, and brother of Piero Soderini. He was an adversary of the Medici family.
Biography
On 27 Mar 1486, he was ordained a priest ...
of Volterra, who commissioned further refinements from the architects
Sangallo the Elder and
Baldassarre Peruzzi
Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and lat ...
.
When the Soderini family fell on hard times, he in turn sold it in 1568 to the Austrian-born cardinal
Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps
Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps (1533–1595) was a German Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. The addition of ''Altemps'' to the family name reflects ''Alt-Ems'' (or ''Alt-Embs'') itself deriving from "Alta Embs" (Latin for "altus" = high), lik ...
, the son of the sister of
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...
. Cardinal Altemps commissioned the architect
Martino Longhi to expand and improve the palazzo; it was Longhi who built the ''belvedere''. Cardinal Altemps accumulated a large collection of books and ancient sculpture. Though his position as the second son in his family meant Marco Sittico Altemps became a cleric, he was not inclined to priesthood. His mistress bore him a son, Roberto, made Duke of Gallese. Roberto Altemps was executed for adultery in 1586 by
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
.
The Altemps family continued to mix in the circles of
Italian nobility
The nobility of Italy (Italian: ''Nobiltà italiana'') comprised individuals and their families of the Italian Peninsula, and the islands linked with it, recognized by the sovereigns of the Italian city-states since the Middle Ages, and by the k ...
throughout the 17th century. Roberto's granddaughter Maria Cristina d'Altemps married
Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere
Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere (15 June 1618 – 29 June 1688) was an Italian nobleman and Duke of Bomarzo.
Biography
Lante was the son of Marcantonio Lante (1566–1643) and his wife Lucrezia della Rovere. He was nephew to his f ...
,
Duke of Bomarzo.
The Palazzo Altemps became the property of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
in the 19th century, and the building was used as a seminary for a short time. It was granted to the Italian state in 1982 and after 15 years of restoration, inaugurated as a museum in 1997.
Collections
The palazzo houses the museum's exhibits on the history of collecting (sculptures from Renaissance collections such as the
Boncompagni
The Boncompagni is a princely family of the Italian nobility who settled in Bologna around the 14th century, but which was probably originally from Umbria.
In 1572 they obtained the papal throne thanks to Ugo Boncompagni, who, with the name of P ...
-
Ludovisi and
Mattei collections, including the
Ludovisi Ares
The Ludovisi Ares is an Antonine Roman marble sculpture of Mars, a fine 2nd-century copy of a late 4th-century BCE Greek original, associated with Scopas or Lysippus: thus the Roman god of war receives his Greek name, Ares.
Ares/Mars is portr ...
,
Ludovisi Throne
The Ludovisi Throne is an ancient sculpted block of white marble hollowed at the back and carved with bas-reliefs on the three outer faces (it is not actually a throne for sitting on). Its authenticity is debated; the majority, who accept it, place ...
, and the ''
Suicide of a Gaul'' (from the same
Pergamon
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...
group as the
Dying Gaul
Dying is the final stage of life which will eventually lead to death. Diagnosing dying is a complex process of clinical decision-making, and most practice checklists facilitating this diagnosis are based on cancer diagnoses.
Signs of dying ...
) and the Egyptian collection (sculptures of eastern deities). The palace also includes the historic private theatre, at present used to house temporary exhibitions, and the church of Sant' Aniceto.
Crypta Balbi
History of the building
In 1981, digging on a derelict site in the
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
between the churches of
Santa Caterina dei Funari
Santa Caterina dei Funari is a church in Rome in Italy, in the rione of Sant'Angelo. The church is mainly known for its façade and its interior with frescoes and paintings.
History
The church is located where the Castro Aureo of the Circus Flamin ...
and
Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi, Daniel Manacorda and his team discovered the colonnaded
quadriporticus
This page is a glossary of architecture.
A
B
C
The Caryatid Porch of the Erech ...
of the Theatre of
Lucius Cornelius Balbus, the nearby ''
statio annonae'' and evidence of later, medieval occupation of the site. These are presented in this branch of the museum, inaugurated in 2001, which houses the archaeological remains and finds from that dig (including a
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
arch from the porticus).
Collections
As well as new material from the excavations, objects in this exhibition space come from
*the collections of the former Kircherian Museum
*the Gorga and Betti collections
*
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
material from the Gnecchi collections and the collection of
Victor Emmanuel III
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
of Savoy
*collections from the
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
, in particular a fresco and marble
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
from the late-1930s Fascist deconstruction of the medieval church of
Sant'Adriano in the
Curia senatus.
*Museum of the
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval hous ...
*the
Capitoline Museums
The Capitoline Museums (Italian: ''Musei Capitolini'') are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Pala ...
*the communal Antiquarium of Rome
*frescoes removed in 1960 from the church of
Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso.
It is the Station days for Tuesday, the fifth week of lent.
History
The first Christi ...
.
Basement
The building's basement contains archaeological remains. Access is only by guided tour.
Ground floor
The first section ("archaeology and history of an urban landscape") presents the results of the excavations, and puts them in the context of the history of the area. As well as showing the remains from the site itself, this section also tells of the ''Monastero di Santa Maria Domine Rose'' (begun nearby in the 8th century), of medieval merchants' and craftsmen's homes, of the ''Conservatorio di Santa Caterina dei Funari'' (built in the mid-16th century by
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola, Society of Jesus, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spain, Spanish Catholic ...
to house the daughters of Roman prostitutes) and of the ''Botteghe Oscure''.
First floor
A second section ("Rome from Antiquity to the Middle Ages") is the
Museum of Medieval Rome and illustrates the life and transformation of Rome between the 5th and 10th centuries AD.
Baths of Diocletian
Cloister of Michelangelo
The cloister of the charterhouse of the church of
Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs ( la, Beatissimae Virginis et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum, it, Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is a basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy, built inside the ruined ''frigida ...
, this is often referred to as "Michelangelo's Cloister" as he was tasked by the Pope with transforming the Baths into a church and chapterhouse. However, it is more likely that Michelangelo just came up with the layout and that a pupil of his, Giacomo del Duca, was responsible for most of the actual architecture, at least in the initial phase of construction. The cloister was built only after Michelangelo's death in 1564. Construction began in 1565 but took at least until 1600. The upper floor was finished in 1676 and the central fountain dates to 1695.
Inside the square of the cloister, a 16th-century garden features outdoor displays of altars and funerary sculpture and inscriptions. These notably include some colossal animal heads, several of which date from Antiquity and were found near Trajan's Column in 1586.
Prehistory section
On the upper floor of the cloister, this exhibit shows the development of the culture of
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...
from the Bronze Age (11th century BC) to the Orientalizing Period (10th to 6th century BC) by means of archaeological findings from the region around Rome.
Small cloister
The small cloister of the charterhouse has been recently renovated. It occupies around a third of the area previously occupied by the ''natatio'' (swimming pool) of the Baths of Diocletian. It was originally built alongside the church. Construction began in the mid-16th century but continued beyond the 17th century. With a side length of 40 meters (half the size of Michelangelo's Cloister) it today features exhibits on the
Arval Brethren and on the
Secular Games
The Saecular Games ( la, Ludi saeculares, originally ) was a Roman religious celebration involving sacrifices and theatrical performances, held in ancient Rome for three days and nights to mark the end of a and the beginning of the next. A , sup ...
. The late 16th-century travertine well in the centre was added during the recent renovation.
Epigraphic section
Showing over 900 exhibits on inscriptions/writings, over three floors of a modern building, this collection houses over 10,000 inscriptions.
''Aule delle Olearie''
These were the storage facilities created by Pope Clement XIII in some of the former halls of the Baths of Diocletian. These large halls (numbered I to XI), most of them without roof cover, have been part of the museum since 1911.
''Aula of Saint Isidore''
A small square room built next to a granary known ''Annona'' in 1640. In 1754 it was converted into a chapel dedicated to Saint Isidore.
Octagonal Aula
This was part of the central complex of the Baths of Diocletian. It was the last of the four halls next to the caldarium. It was converted into a grain store in 1575, and in 1764 became a storage facility for oil. The dome is still the original one. The hall served as an exhibition site in 1911 but was then turned into a cinema and, in 1928, into a planetarium.
The hall was restored in 1991. It is devoted to sculptures found on baths sites in Rome.
Gallery
File:Ermafrodito, museo nazionale romano 02.JPG, Sleeping Hermaphroditus. Marble. National Roman Museum. 2nd century BCE
File:Ermafrodito, museo nazionale romano 01.JPG, Sleeping Hermaphroditus, front view. Marble. National Roman Museum. 2nd century BCE
See also
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Collections of the National Roman Museum
Collection or Collections may refer to:
* Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department
* Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service
* Collection agency, agency to collect cash
* Collectio ...
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...
References
External links
Official Website of the Museo Nazionale RomanoFree downloadable PDF of the Brochure of the Museum at Palazzo MassimoA video depicting an Eliot poem with images of Palazzo Altemps*
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum Of Rome
Museums established in 1889
Museums in Rome
National museums of Italy
Archaeological museums in Italy
Altieri
Numismatic museums in Italy
Museums of ancient Rome in Italy
Museums of ancient Greece in Italy
Epigraphic museums