The Torlonia Collection (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ''Collezione Torlonia'') is a private art collection of 620
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
and
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 letter ...
art works assembled by the noble
Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia.
The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first infl ...
family of
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
. It has been called "the greatest private collection of ancient Roman antiquity" by archaeologist Darius Arya.
Around 180 pieces are busts, one of the largest collections of Roman portraiture in the world.
History
Referred to as a "collection of collections" by the archaeologist
Salvatore Settis
Salvatore Settis (born 11 June 1941) is an Italian archaeologist and art historian. From 1994 to 1999 he was director of the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Los Angeles and from 1999 to 2010 of the Scuola Normale Superio ...
,
much of the Torlonia Collection consists of older collections acquired either whole or in part by Prince
Giovanni Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
(1754-1829) and his son Prince
Alessandro
Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Alessandro
* Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter
* Alessandro Baricco ...
(1800-1886). Acquisitions of individual works and groups of classical art were also made on the art market, and the family conducted extensive excavations on its own properties in and around Rome to unearth further antiquities for the collection.
Acquisitions
![Anton von maron, ritratto di bartolomeo cavaceppi, 1782](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Anton_von_maron%2C_ritratto_di_bartolomeo_cavaceppi%2C_1782.JPG)
In 1800, Prince Giovanni acquired the contents of the studio of the 18th century sculptor-restorer
Bartolomeo Cavaceppi
Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (c. 1716 – December 9, 1799) was an Italian sculptor who worked in Rome, where he trained in the studio of the acclimatized Frenchman, Pierre-Étienne Monnot, and then in the workshop of Carlo Antonio Napolioni, a restor ...
, who had died the previous year. The ancient part of the collection consisted of a thousand pieces of sculpture, busts, reliefs, decorative and architectural fragments. There was also an array of modern sculptures executed by Cavaceppi, modern copies of antique sculpture, paintings, plaster casts, clay models and
maquettes.
In 1816, 269 statues from the collection assembled by the 17th century art collector and aristocrat
Vincenzo Giustiniani
Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani (13 September 1564 – 27 December 1637) was an aristocratic Italian banker, art collector and intellectual of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, known today largely for the Giustiniani art collection, assembled ...
(1564-1637), were transferred to Giovannia Torlonia as collateral on a loan. After 1825, following Prince Vincenzo Giustiniani's failure to uphold the terms of his agreement, the Torlonias entered into a long legal dispute which concluded with the sculptures coming into Torlonia possession between 1856-1859. Some of the highlights which came from the Giustiniani Collection were a series of imperial busts and portraits, the
Giustiniani Hestia
The Giustiniani Hestia is a finely-executed marble sculpture, a perhaps Hadrianic Roman copy of a Greek bronze of about 470 BCE, now in the Torlonia Collection (see Torlonia Museum), Rome, but named for its early owner, marchese Vincenzo Giustinian ...
, and the "Euthydemus of Bactria".
In 1866, the
Villa Albani
The Villa Albani (later Villa Albani-Torlonia) is a villa in Rome, built on the Via Salaria for Cardinal Alessandro Albani. It was built between 1747 and 1767 by the architect Carlo Marchionni in a project heavily influenced by otherssuch as G ...
and its collections were also purchased. This collection had been assembled by Cardinal
Alessandro Albani
Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, but should be best remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann ...
, under the curatorship of the classical art scholar and archaeologist
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding he ...
. One of the outstanding pieces belonging to the Villa Albani collection is the
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 ...
, a marble
krater
A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water.
Form and function
At a Greek symposium, krat ...
resting on carved lions' feet with a relief around its sides depicting a
Bacchic
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...
symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
. It is believed to have adorned the
Horti Agrippinae
The Horti Agrippinae (''Gardens of Agrippina'') was a luxurious villa-estate belonging to Agrippina the Elder in ancient Rome. It was located on the west bank of the river Tiber where St. Peter's Basilica is now, and extended to the river where a ...
, the gardens of
Agrippina the Elder
Agrippina "the Elder" (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Augustus) and ...
between the
Janiculum Hill
The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among th ...
and the
Vatican plain. Before passing into the possession of Cardinal Albani and thence to Alessandro Torlonia, the vase belonged to the sixteenth-century Cesi Collection. The Albani collection also included a relief with
Antinous
Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; grc-gre, Ἀντίνοος; 27 November – before 30 October 130) was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and probable lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his ...
taken from
Hadrian's Villa
Hadrian's Villa ( it, Villa Adriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large villa complex built c. AD 120 by Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli outside Rome. The site is owned by the Republic of ...
, and a Roman bronze statuette of the
Apollo Sauroctonos, after an original by the Greek sculptor
Praxiteles
Praxiteles (; el, Πραξιτέλης) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attica sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubita ...
.
Excavations
![Villa quintili](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Villa_quintili.jpg)
The Torlonias excavated ancient ruins on their estate of Roma Vecchia, which housed sites like the
Villa of the Quintilii
The Villa of the Quintilii (Italian: Villa dei Quintili) is an ancient Roman villa beyond the fifth milestone along the Via Appia Antica just outside the traditional boundaries of Rome, Italy. It was built by the rich and cultured brothers Sextus ...
and the Villa dei Sette Bassi, off of the
Appian Way
The Appian Way (Latin and Italian language, Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic, republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is ...
, and the
Villa of Maxentius
The Villa of Maxentius is an imperial villa in Rome, built by the Roman emperor Maxentius. The complex is located between the second and third miles of the ancient Appian Way, and consists of three main buildings: the palace, the circus of Maxenti ...
on the
Via Latina
The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers.
Route
It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...
. Some of the sculptures uncovered from these sites include an Attic relief from the slopes of the
Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
in Athens, probably brought to Rome in the 2nd century AD by
Herodes Atticus
Herodes Atticus ( grc-gre, Ἡρώδης; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician, as well as a Roman senator. A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla, for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commissioned ...
, a statuary group of
Eirene and
Ploutos
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Plutus (; grc-gre, Πλοῦτος, Ploûtos, wealth) is the god and the personification of wealth, and the son of the goddess of agriculture Demeter and the mortal Iasion.
Family
Plutu ...
made after an original by the sculptor
Cephisodotus the Elder
Cephisodotus or Kephisodotos ( gr, Κηφισόδοτος, flourished about 400 – c. 360 BC) was a Greek sculptor, perhaps the father or an uncle of Praxiteles, one of whose sculptor sons was Cephisodotus the Younger.
The one noted work ...
, and a group known as the "Invitation to the Dance" featuring a
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
and
satyr
In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...
.
Between 1827 and 1828 excavations were carried out around
Anzio
Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.
Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
, and additional work was undertaken on the Torlonia estates of
Caffarella, Quadraro, and at
Portus
Portus was a large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome. Sited on the north bank of the north mouth of the Tiber, on the Tyrrhenian coast, it was established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia.
The archae ...
, the site of imperial Rome's most important port. The finds from these estates were moved to the
Palazzo Bolognetti-Torlonia, then brought to the Torlonia Museum after it was founded. Alessandro Torlonia acquired further property in Rome and its vicinity, including the Vigna dei Gesuiti on the
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome.
Location and boundaries
The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
, which rested above the remains of the
Baths of Decius. Other estates acquired for excavation were at
Tuscia Tuscia is a historical region of Italy that comprised the territories under Etruscan influence and the name adopted for Etruria after the Roman conquest. While it later came to coincide with today's province of Viterbo, it was originally much lar ...
and
Sabina Sabina may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence:
* the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy
* Magliano Sabina, city, Italy
* Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy
*Fara Sab ...
; at
Fara Sabina
Fara in Sabina, also spelled Fara Sabina, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome and about southwest of Rieti.
History
The area was inhabited in prehistoric times, as ...
(ancient ''Cures''), the collection's bronze statue of
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...
was discovered.
Museum
![Il principe Alessandro Torlonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Il_principe_Alessandro_Torlonia.jpg)
In 1875, Prince Alessandro founded the
Torlonia Museum
The Torlonia Museum ( it, Museo Torlonia; not identical with the Villa Torlonia on the Via Nomentana) was a museum in Rome, which housed the Torlonia Collection (''Collezione Torlonia'') of ancient sculptures.
History
The collection of 620 mar ...
on
Via della Lungara
Via della Lungara is a street that links Via di Porta Settimiana to Piazza della Rovere in Rome (Italy), in the Rione Trastevere.
History and name
In the 16th century, Pope Julius II opened the new ''via recta'' ("straight road") that cut throug ...
in the
Trastevere
Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'.
Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...
neighborhood of Rome. In that year the collection consisted of 517 works - new additions continued to be made until 1884, when the collection numbered 620 sculptures. The museum was only accessible to small groups of visitors and access by scholars was limited.
A catalogue of the collection, authored by Pietro Ercole Visconti and featuring
phototypes of all 620 works, was published in 1884. Prince Alessandro arranged for this catalogue to be donated to private individuals and to the libraries of archaeological institutes, in order to "bring it
he collection
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
in a splendid manner...to the notice of archaeologists, scholars, and all those who lack the opportunity to have it often before them."
Exhibition
In 2013, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925-2017)
[Gasparri, 2021; p. 31] established the Torlonia Foundation to manage the collection. In 2016, the family, the foundation, and the Italian government signed an accord to display the collection.
Restoration work sponsored by the Italian luxury house
Bulgari, primarily to remove thick accumulations of dust, also began in 2016.
In October 2020, an exhibition of 92 works from the Torlonia Collection opened at 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 ...
in Rome, the first public display of works from the Torlonia Collection in decades, and came after a series of failed negotiations between the Torlonia family and the Italian government over displaying or purchasing the collection dating back to the 1960s.
After the exhibition was prolongued and finally came to an end in Rome, it was shown in Milano at the
Gallerie d'Italia. It is due to travel through Europe and the United States.
References
Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia.
The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first infl ...
Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia.
The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first infl ...
Sculptures in Rome