Saturday, August 01, 2009

From the MiBAC Newsletter of 31 July 2009

Interesting things as always in the weekly update from the (still monstrously-named) Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita' Culturale (you can sign-up here; back-issues here, though not up-to-date):


The waves of the Mediterranean exposed the grave of a 'warrior' of the 3rd millennium BCE, ten meters from the shore, within the military zone at Torre Astura in Lazio. The contents of the grave, which find their comparanda in the Gaudo facies of the Italian Copper Age, include six ceramic vessels, a flint arrowhead, two flint dagger blades, and one human skeleton. The photo caption claims that he was killed by an arrow in the side, but I find no mention of this elsewhere. The press release, with excellent photos, is here; see the "Scheda tecnica, dettaglio" (.doc) for more technical details.

The first phase of restoration of the Herculaneum boat is complete, allowing for public viewing (Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:00, at no additional cost). The press release, again with photos, is here.

There's a new exhibition called Santuario di Ercole Vincitore. Il cantiere, lo scavo, le meraviglie ("Sanctuary of Hercules Victor. The site, the excavation, the wonders") at the sanctuary of that name in Tivoli. It will run from October of 2009 until February 2010, open every Saturday except December 26 from 10:30 - 13:00, free of charge. Info here.

La Religiosità nella locride tra passato e presente ("Religiosity in the Locride between past and present") is the title of a new exhibition in the Palazzo Nieddu in Locri. The exhibit, which covers the 4th century BCE to the 20th century CE, runs from July 31 to August 30, 2009.

Ferragosto


Spending a few days taking it slow in sweltering Rome... the Museo Nazionale Romano in the Palazzo Massimo just gets better every time I go back. The substantial remains of the "Scopri il Massimo" exhibit (18 December 2008 - 7 June 2009) are worth a look -- the paintings from the Columbarium in the Villa Pamphilj are wonderful (including the fisherman above).

First time I've seen the Warrior of Lanuvium's belt on display in the Baths of Diocletian (though it could have been out for years for all I know):

The Etruscan museum at the Villa Giulia is due to (re)open about a dozen galleries this fall [I happened to read this in a newspaper and failed to note the details].

In other news: Confiscation of smuggled antiquities in Calabria. [ANSA]