A statue of Hercules had been found in Montaione in the summer. It will be presented restored in tourismA

During an archaeological excavation campaign on a piece of land in the municipality of Montaione (Florence), a small white marble statue, dating back to the 3rd-4th centuries AD, was found. The work, which lacks the head and consists of three matching fragments, will be presented for the first time ever at tourismA - Salon of Archaeology and Cultural Tourism, which will be held in Florence Feb. 21-23. The announcement of the discovery of the “Ercolino da Montaione,” as the statue has been renamed by insiders, came yesterday, but it was actually found last summer as part of excavations conducted by theFlorentine Valdelsa Cultural Association and the Sagas Department of the University of Florence, with the participation of Italian and American students from the Irlab Institute involved in the summer school associated with the project.

The statue, just over 50 centimeters high, depicts Hercules standing in a moment of rest, with a club next to him, the skin of the Nemean lion and, at his feet, the head of a bull, a clear reference to the capture of the Cretan bull. Currently, a team of experts is conducting preliminary analysis on the work, which is now being restored with the support of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Metropolitan City of Florence and the provinces of Pistoia and Prato. Initial investigations suggest that the statue can be placed between the middle and late imperial age (3rd-4th centuries AD), a period that coincides with the phase of maximum architectural and decorative splendor of the site being excavated, namely a stretch of hill in the locality of Sant’Antonio, just before Poggio all’Aglione.

Once the restoration is complete, the work will be temporarily exhibited at the premises of the University of Florence, before finding a permanent home inside the Museo Civico di Montaione.

“It is a find that excites us,” commented Antonella Ranaldi, superintendent of archaeology, fine arts and landscape for the Metropolitan City of Florence, “and makes us understand how archaeology always reserves new things for us: objects, information and news. This is really a discovery because the statuette is almost complete, it’s three matching pieces. It represents a Hercules and there is the presence of a bull at his feet and this is something not so frequent in representations of Hercules.”

A statue of Hercules had been found in Montaione in the summer. It will be presented restored in tourismA

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