At the Baths of Diocletian an exhibition on ancient Dacia, in collaboration with Romania

From November 21, 2023, the National Roman Museum will host in the Halls of the Baths of Diocletian the exhibition Dacia. The Last Frontier of Romanity, the largest and most prestigious exhibition of archaeological finds organized by Romania abroad in recent decades, to trace the historical and cultural development of its territory over more than 1,500 years, from the 8th century BC to the 8th century AD.

The exhibition, curated by Ernest Oberlander director of the National Museum of the History of Romania, and Stéphane Verger director of the National Roman Museum, links up with the exhibitions in Madrid(National Archaeological Museum, 2021) and Bucharest(National Museum of the History of Romania, 2022), expanding on them: in fact, in Rome (until April 21, 2024), about 1,000 objects from 47 Romanian museums will be presented, as well as from the National Museum of the History of the Republic of Moldova for the first time displayed alongside some artifacts from the National Roman Museum.

The theme of the exhibition is the construction of Romanity, already the focus of another major exhibition, Tota Italia. At the Origins of a Nation realized with the Directorate General of Museums of the Ministry of Culture, curated by Massimo Osanna and Stéphane Verger (Rome, Scuderie del Quirinale, May 14-July 25, 2021).

The realization of the exhibition Dacia. The Last Frontier of Romanity was made possible thanks to theEmbassy of Romania in Italy, in partnership with the National Museum of the History of Romania and the National Roman Museum, the Romanian Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, the Ministry of National Defense of Romania, the RomanianCultural Institute through theAcademy of Romania, the Italian Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate of Museums.

Placed under theHigh Patronage of the President of Romania and the President of the Italian Republic, the exhibition marks a double anniversary for Romanian-Italian bilateral relations: in fact, 15 years have passed since the signing of the Consolidated Strategic Partnership between Romania and Italy and 150 years since the establishment of Romania’s first diplomatic agency in Italy.

In his greeting message, President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella traces the stages of the solid friendship between Romania and Italy and states, "Diplomatic relations between Bucharest and Rome date back to 1879, the year following the achievement of Romanian independence from theOttoman Empire. However, the unique friendship that exists between Romania and Italy has much older roots, dating back to the conquest of rich Dacia by the Roman Empire, which began in the first century BC and was completed by Emperor Trajan in the year 106 AD. The Roman presence was all in all brief, but the influence in the region was profound, leaving the indelible imprint of Latinity in the Carpathian and Lower Danube area. Today such historical, cultural and linguistic interconnection, along with the shared legacy of a millennia-old civilization, also cements the political and economic ties between the two countries, which are further strengthened by the increasingly intense contacts between our civil societies, as well as by our common membership in theEuropean Union and theAtlantic Alliance."

To celebrate the double anniversary, admission to the exhibition will be free for citizens of Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

The event marks the pinnacle of bilateral cultural exchanges and brings together important artifacts to follow the historical evolution of the territory of present-day Romania, along a time course of more than 1,500 years, from the 8th century B.C. to the 8th century A.D., recounting the many contacts and exchanges that took place in this region, thanks to its abundance of resources and location between Europe andAsia.

Opening the tour is a cast of a scene carved on Trajan’s Column (scene XXXII, spiral V), depicting three Dacian archers holding besieged Romans at gunpoint inside a city and which archaeologist Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli had colored in the early 1970s, thus demonstrating the existence of color in the architecture of Roman imperial antiquity.

On display alongside are masterpieces such as the Glykon Serpent from Tomis, a marble depiction of a “good demon” healing epidemics; the magnificent gold helmet from CotofeneÅŸti of Thracian manufacture, with various scenes of sacrifice; the Celtic bronze helmet from CiumeÅŸti, with the striking eagle-shaped crest that astonishes for its uniqueness of workmanship and design; the Gothic treasure of Pietroasele from the 4th century AD.C. with the exceptional embossed gold phiale (cup) and the large fibulae; as well as some Dacian gold bracelets, the bronze tablets of the Lex Troesmensium and the Biertan donarium.

Also on display is a wide selection of important artifacts-including weapons, vases, ceramics, coins, jewelry, and trousseaus for magic rites-through which one can discover the religion, art, crafts, trade, and daily life of ancient Dacia.

As a millennial journey during which to see the evolution of the geto-dacian ancestors to the geti and Dacian peoples; the transformation of a part of Dacia into a Roman province; the integration of this space into the Roman world; the survival of the civilization even after the abandonment of the Dacian territory by the army and administration of Rome; and the coexistence of the inhabitants of the territory with migrant populations.

The fascination of the exhibition emerges from the interweaving and mutual influence of civilizations, the profound transformations, the process of formation and adaptation that led to the creation of a cultural identity, over a period of time from the end of the Early of the Iron Age and up to the dawn of present-day European civilization, in a space perceived by contemporaries of the millennium of migrations as the “last frontier of Romanity,” a place where the linguistic foundation laid by the Latin language and the name of the Romans have survived, despite vicissitudes, to the present day.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: the first is dedicated to Roman Dacia and illustrates the conquest of the territory at the time of Emperor Trajan (101-106 A.D.), highlighting the close ties and similarities between the artifacts from Romanian museums and those from the Roman National Museum.

The section has the dual function of introduction and watershed: the Dacian Wars in fact mark the Roman conquest and annexation to the Empire, but also “a before” and “an after.”

A frontier Romanity is highlighted, which is reflected in the Roman-era contexts presented. For this reason, the other sections are closely linked to the historical context of the “before” and “after” with respect to Romanization, to best explain the cultural specificities of this region between East and West. From the Iron Age to the Byzantine era, Romania was a crossroads of cultures, and the exhibition allows one to fully follow the development and characteristics through a chronological path: indeed, the second section recounts the formation of Dacian culture in the Iron Age with the influence of the Thracians, Scythians and Greeks from the Black Sea colonies, and the third section illustrates the comparison between Mediterranean urban civilizations and continental tribal and nomadic civilizations and the insertion of Dacia into Mediterranean Hellenistic cultural networks from the time of Alexander the Great and continental ones with new central European populations such as the Celts, Geto-Thracians, and Bastarni of Germanic origin. This is the time when Rome, beginning with the conquest of Macedonia (with the Battle of Pidna in 168 B.C.), begins to have political influence over the region.

The fourth section focuses on the era of the dissolution of the Empire, with the difficulties of keeping borders secure, the mixing of peoples, and the emergence of peoples such as the Huns, as Rome’s power shifts to the East with Byzantium.

This section also emphasizes the role of Christianization and the spread of the Latin language, highlights of Rome’s legacy and federating elements that foreshadow present-day Romania.

A constant theme of the sections is “the interweaving of cultures,” which explains “Romanity on the frontier” and how from time to time it managed to adapt to this particular context, which can be compared to the situation of the Italic peninsula (think of the Tota Italia exhibition).

A number of collateral events have been held with the exhibition Dacia. The Last Frontier of Romanity and a Romanian-Italian cultural route was imagined.

The series of cultural events, organized in prestigious venues in the Eternal City, starting with the National Roman Museum - in the venues of Terme di Diocleziano and Palazzo Massimo -, and at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, will bring new attention to Romania and its history, and will come to constitute a true showcase of the historical and cultural ties between the two countries.

The significant exhibition Camilian Demetrescu - DACICA, hosted at the Palazzo Massimo from Nov. 22, 2023 to April 21, 2024, and curated by architect Cornelia Bujin, will include 12 works by the great Romanian-born artist Camilian Demetrescu(Busteni, Nov. 18, 1924 - Gallese, May 6, 2012), which depict deities worshipped by the Dacians.

Simultaneously, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome will exhibit one of Camilian Demetrescu’s most famous works, The Mask of Zalmoxis.

The organization of these two events has the support of the Presidency of the Culture, Science and Education Commission of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and theParliamentary Intergroup Culture Art and Sport.

Another initiative of this Romanian-Italian cultural journey, is the installation Columna mutãtio - THE SPIRAL, by Romanian artist LuminiÈ›a Țăranu, a contemporary interpretation of the Trajan Column and a further contemporary art contribution to the major exhibition on Dacia.

Two academic lectures will also be organized in the venues of the National Roman Museum, in collaboration with the Academy of Romania.

The topics covered are related to the evolutions and dynamics that marked the East and Center of Europe in the period from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, a historical moment that overlaps with the one illustrated by the exhibition on Dacia.

On Wednesday, November 22 at 4 p.m., at the National Roman Museum-Palazzo Massimo, Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu Director of the National Museum of History of Romania will give a lecture on The Odyssey of the Dacian Gold Bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia (1999-2023). Stéphane Verger will introduce and moderate.

On Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m., a lecture entitled Roman bridges and bridgeheads across the Danube: Drobeta and Sucidava will be held at the National Roman Museum - Baths of Diocletian.

An important contribution to the exhibition has been made by sponsor Geox.

For all information, you can visit the official website of the National Roman Museum.

At the Baths of Diocletian an exhibition on ancient Dacia, in collaboration with Romania

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