Augustus of Prima Porta Even if you missed "Moi, Auguste, Empereur de Rome" at the Grand Palais in Paris, last year or, a few month before, a similar exhibition called simply "Augusto", at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, you are still in time. The celebrations of the two thousand's anniversary of the death of Augustus (63BC-14AD), the Julius Caesar's grand- nephew and adopted son, first emperor of Rome, are not over. If you are in Rome, you can visit two very interesting exhibitions dedicated to this exceptional political leader.
One is entitled "Keys to Rome. The City of August", open until the 12 April 2015 at the "Trajan's Market" or "Museo dei Fori Imperiali", the most extraordinary place of the ancient Rome! (few steps from Piazza Venezia). In the time of Augustus it was the administration centre of the "Emperial Fora", the hearth of the Eternal City. There, in the middle of so many fragments of sculptures, of refined bas-relief's details and other architectural decorations found in the ruins of the Emperial Fora, you can discover the Rome of Augustus also through multimedia installations.
One is entitled "Keys to Rome. The City of August", open until the 12 April 2015 at the "Trajan's Market" or "Museo dei Fori Imperiali", the most extraordinary place of the ancient Rome! (few steps from Piazza Venezia). In the time of Augustus it was the administration centre of the "Emperial Fora", the hearth of the Eternal City. There, in the middle of so many fragments of sculptures, of refined bas-relief's details and other architectural decorations found in the ruins of the Emperial Fora, you can discover the Rome of Augustus also through multimedia installations.
Trajan's Market Panoramic View
Very similar exhibitions opened, last September like the one in Rome, in three other cities, three other cardinal points of the Augustus Empire: Sarajevo, Alexandria of Egypt and Amsterdam, with archaeological objects found in situ and interactive technologies to celebrate this important anniversary.
For instance, thanks to the "revealing flashlight", you can see how the ancient Rome was not at all marble-white but, on the contrary, very coloured. Not only outside but also inside the houses, though in a much more delicate way.
For instance, thanks to the "revealing flashlight", you can see how the ancient Rome was not at all marble-white but, on the contrary, very coloured. Not only outside but also inside the houses, though in a much more delicate way.
Mythological scenes in the age of the Emperor Augustus, this wall in its entirety was detached from a villa on the banks of the Tiber River in the 19th century. You can see it in The Palazzo Massimo
You can find that in another place, the Palazzo Massimo, the "Museo Nazionale Romano" (a few meters from the Termini railway station) where, visiting the amazing permanent collection, among the roman sculptures, heads of men and women so incredibly realistic that you can meet them in the streets of Rome, you'll discover the splendid painted walls of the "triclinium" of Livia's villa.
Livia's Triclinium painted walls
| Livia was the wife of Augustus, the third, after two divorces, but the most important one. At the Palazzo Massimo, you can also visit the exhibition "The revolution of Augustus" (until the 10th may 2015). The emperor changed completely the calendar of the Romans, introducing new festivities that were no more linked only with gods but with him, the "Pontifex Maximus", as he is represented in a famous sculpture that is part of Palazzo Massimo's collection. On his death's bed, after a very long reign, from 27BC until his death, the 19 August (a month called so in his honour!) 14 AD, the old Emperor said: "I found a Rome of bricks, I leave you one of marble" And it wasn't an exaggeration at all! That was the golden age of Pax, Pietas and Concordia. |  Pontifex Maximus |
