Museum capsule reviews, part 1

I've been meaning for some time to put down slightly more formed thoughts about museums I've visited. I should have started doing it twenty years ago, but better late than never. Assessments are from my own, highly partial, particular (and peculiar) point of view.

Thoughts on the recently visited:

Artena: Museo Civico Archeologico "Roger Lambrechts"

A small but well done museum, with a recent-ish (2009) installation. All of the material comes from the ancient site up the hill at Civita di Artena and its territory. (The name of the modern town has been applied, probably wrongly, on the basis of an ancient Volscian town attested by Livy.) The museum has two rooms, one with Archaic and Republican materials, the other mostly Imperial. I appreciated putting all the (numerous!) Genucilia plates on display, allowing an appreciation of variation within the series. And the rest of the Mid-Republican material is great to see (arulae! architectural terracottas! all the common and cookware you could want!). And decently lit. 

Valmontone: Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

At the moment, aside from a handful of inscriptions immured in the entryway, there are only two objects on display, both sarcophagi. (I was hoping to see the section advertised on the website, with artifacts discovered during the construction of the high speed rail line through the area, but the place seems to be undergoing renovation.)

Of particular interest to me was the earlier one, a massive monolithic tuff sarcophagus found at Valmontone in 2011, of broad Mid-Republican (4th-3rd c. BCE) date. A growing number of these have come to light in the areas around the Colli Albani, and they're really deserving of a more thorough study. Of more interest to most people would probably be the later, marble strigilated sarcophagus, mid-3rd c. CE with lions devouring ibexes. The lid, with a representation of roof tiles and antefixes, is interesting. You'll want to go while there is daylight, because the lighting leaves something to be desired.

Anagni: Museo della Cattedrale

Go to see the richly frescoed medieval crypt of Saint Magnus! But there is also some archaeology to be seen. Of note, a Roman ceramic pig rattle with blue glass-paste inserts, of a type that has been hypothesized to be souvenirs from the Temple of Hercules at Tivoli. Plenty of epigraphy (including a big Severan inscription recording the paving of the road from Villa Magna to Anagni, reused as paving in the cathedral). A small collection of ELC votive terracottas. A strange sort of Republican(?) pyxis. A curious red figure krater with a horseman and a kitharode. Daylight helps. Some classic Late Republican triglyph and metope frieze spolia in the front of the cathedral.

A highlight is the inscribed stone thesauros from some ancient sanctuary in the area. A stroke of museological genius has this installed such that it reprises its original function, and you can make your own offering to the museum:

Anagni: Museo Archeologico Ernico

Despite opening with some fanfare in May 2023, it is currently closed with a rusty padlock. Chissà... 

More to follow, hopefully in a more or less timely fashion. (And photos, eventually, hopefully.) Also, I think I need to update the layout of the blog to make it more legible on smartphones?