Being born and reborn in Etruria: an exhibition at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia

The Cycle of Life. Birth and Rebirth in Etruria, this is the title of the new exhibition set up at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia from June 13 to October 6, 2019.

The frescoed rooms of the main floor of the Roman Villa will be the scene of archaeological evidence that will address the Cycle of Life, the theme of the physiological interweaving of the different moments of life from a social point of view, highlighting the transitions from one phase to another and the differences in approach depending on the historical context where people lived.

Physiological transitions were generally under the protection of the gods and sanctioned by choral rites and ceremonies.
Shapes of the folk religiosity of the Etruscans and neighboring peoples are on display: gifts offered to the deities who presided at weddings and female and male fertility and protected motherhood in all its phases.

Also central is the theme of natality: a wide range of terracotta representations of wombs reveal the anatomical knowledge of the Etruscans. Also present, however, are themes of the defeat of disease, old age, and death.

In addition, vases intended for the consumption of wine at aristocratic banquets describe vain sorceress Medea ’s spells to satisfy her desire for eternal youth, Heracles ’ impossibility in the defeat of old age, Ariadne ’s immortality achieved through the fidelity of Dionysus ’ conjugal love or attained by Heracles as a reward for his struggle against evil on behalf of humanity.

In the exhibition, in this way, the Etruscan-Italic world and actuality are intertwined in representing the existential journey from birth to death.

The exhibition is organized by the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, the San Camillo-Forlanini Foundation of Rome, the Museum of the History of Medicine and the Museum Pole of the University of Rome “Sapienza.”

For info: www.villagiulia.beniculturali.it

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Tickets: Full 8 euros, reduced from 18 to 25 years 2 euros.

Image: Vase depicting Heracles and Geras.

Being born and reborn in Etruria: an exhibition at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia

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