The National Roman Museum opens its storerooms and displays its Ulysses-themed artifacts

From December 8, 2022 to January 8, 2023, the National Roman Museum presents Ulysses and the Others. Discovering the hidden masterpieces of the National Roman Museum. The museum venue opens its storerooms to the public to unveil some of its splendid artifacts.

The first stage of the journey through the museum’s deposits is dedicated to Ulysses, a character whose thirst for knowledge embodies the inability to surrender in the face of an inaccessible world. A traveler par excellence, Ulysses is an ideal guide to begin this journey of discovery of unknown works, (re)discovered and exhibited in the Halls of the Baths of Diocletian. Through Deposits (re)discovered, in fact, the enhancement project, consisting of a series of short exhibitions, kicks off, which will allow the public to become acquainted with many works usually kept inside the deposits, including sculptures, mosaics, frescoes, terracotta, glass and bronze objects. Finds unearthed during more than a century of the National Roman Museum’s life that tell not only the antiquity of Rome, but also the story of its transformation and excavations, from the establishment of Roma Capitale to the present.

The exhibition path starts with the great mosaic of Ulysses and the Sirens (from Quarto di Corzano, province of Rieti, 2nd century AD), presented in a multimedia and immersive setting that takes visitors through the story of Ulysses’ journey. The latter is represented in his features by the Greek marble head of Ulysses (from the burial ground of the Statili, early imperial age): a mature man with flowing hair and thick beard, recognizable by his characteristic headgear, the pileus. Then appear the female figures who animate the myth: his wife Penelope (a marble head from the second century CE is displayed); Circe, with her magical sorceries (a portrait of her in Greek marble found in 1928 on the promontory of Circeo is displayed); and the divine protector Athena, represented by a bust found in the suburbs of Rome. Also recounting the adventures of Odysseus and the other characters who are part of the myth are a sarcophagus with a depiction of Achilles among the daughters of Nicomedes (from Isola Sacra, second half of the second century CE) and anurn with a scene of Achilles’ contention for arms (from Ostia Antica, second half of the second century CE).

Odysseus’ journey will then continue in the second exhibition moment dedicated to “the others” (Jan. 14 to Feb. 19, 2023), delving into the relationship between ancient Romans and other cultures. A reflection on how the ancients perceived and represented other peoples. The gaze then widens and from the journey of a single hero to that of the entire Roman people, narrated here for their ability to relate to diverse peoples, from barbarians to pygmies, and to confront the many defeated and subjugated populations.

“The National Roman Museum preserves a huge archaeological, historical and artistic heritage of which only a small part is visible in the permanent exhibition itinerary. It is our duty to bring back from the museum’s many storerooms the works, the most significant archaeological contexts,” said Stéphane Verger, Director of the National Roman Museum. "Thanks to the Urbs, from the City to the Roman Countryside program funded by the National Program for Complementary Investment to the NRP, the National Roman Museum will be able in the coming years to open new exhibition spaces that will allow the museum itinerary to be expanded. Pending the completion of work in the Museum’s four locations, temporary thematic presentations will be offered in which little-known, never-seen or long-hidden works in storage will be brought together. The first of these (Re)discovered Depositories is the result of a fruitful public-private partnership, a type of collaboration that will hopefully be renewed and expanded in the future. The choice of theme is particularly appropriate to the moment the National Roman Museum is experiencing, which is beginning a challenging adventure through which it will help ferry the public to the new realities of the world, History and the contemporary."

The project was realized thanks to the support of ANAGINA - Associazione Nazionale Agenti Imprenditori Assicurativi (National Association of Insurance Business Agents), and the installation is by Contemporanea Progetti.

Image: Head of Ulysses (early imperial age; Greek marble with large crystals; Rome, Baths of Diocletian, deposits (Magazzino Monteporzio), inv. 130

The National Roman Museum opens its storerooms and displays its Ulysses-themed artifacts

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.