14/10/2020 – 29/06/2021
Musei Capitolini – New venue at Palazzo Caffarelli
An exciting new exhibition opens this week at the Capitoline museums. The exhibition ‘The Torlonia Marbles – Collecting Masterpieces’ boasts ninety-six outstanding examples of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture: busts, statues (marble and bronze) to sarcophagi. The breath-taking artwork has been loving restored and is part of the Torlonia Family’s private collection.
‘Collecting Masterpieces’ traces the beginnings of the private collection of antiquities and the crucially important transition from private collections to public museums; a process where Rome and Italy have numerous examples. The Torlonia marbles constitute a ‘collection of collections’ with an astounding 620 catalogued works of art – the result of a long series of acquisitions from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Many of the pieces have never seen before by the public, kept hidden for over two hundred years, some were on display at the Torlonia Museum at the Lungara (founded by Prince Alessandro Torlonia in 1875).
The exhibition celebrates the reopening of the new prestigious exhibition space at Palazzo Caffarelli on the Campidoglio; brought to us by Bvlgari and the Fondazione Torlonia (an organization set up by Prince Alessandro Torlonia), with the hope of becoming a permanent exhibition. Bvlgari is known for its cultural initiatives in the city, funding the restoration of artistic and archaeological treasures in the city, including the Spanish steps in 2014.
‘The Torlonia Marbles – Collecting Masterpieces’ should not be missed for the beautiful pieces on display!