ItalyUpdate

ANCIENT ROME CITY PLAN RECOVERED

A fascinating museum has just reopened on the previously neglected Celio Hill exhibiting a unique collection of archaeological remains that had been shut away and virtually forgotten for almost a century.

The Celio Hill is one of the fabled Seven Hills, situated between the Palatine and the Colosseum. It contained an Antiquarium (collection of antiquities), with a vast store of finds from excavations in the area during the 1890s. However, the building was undermined by work during the construction of the Metro A line and closed to visitors for security reasons in 1939. The area, which also included a botanical garden, also hosted the former Fascist Palestra di GIL (a Youth Sports and Cultural Centre) and the 1835 Casina dei Salvi coffee house.

The latter two buildings have now been restored and converted into museum and study areas. The Palestra di GIL has been re-named il Museo della Forma Urbis (known in English as the Severan Marble Plan), a 3^rd century AD gigantic city map of Ancient Rome that was once fixed on the wall of the Temple of Peace in the Roman Forum area. Originally the map measured 235 sqm and was engraved on 150 marble panels. Only about a tenth of the original map has survived. These can now be seen, laid out in accordance with the plan recreated in 1748 by cartographer-engineer Giovanni Battista Nolli. on the pavement of the main hall of the museum.

The surrounding park has been transformed into an open air museum, strewn with archeological fragments of sculptures, cornices, inscriptions and tombstones, from the former Antiquarium.

The Archeological Park and Museum are open every day except Monday.

MSTENHOUSE

Info: Tel. 060608 www.sovraintendenzaroma.it

DACIA: THE ANCIENT LAND OF GOLD

The exhibition “Dacia the Last Frontier of the Roman World” offers a rare opportunity to admire the art wonders of ancient Dacia (region corresponding to much of modern Romania and Moldova) at the Museo Nazionale Romano in the Roman Baths of Diocletian and the nearby Palazzo Massimo Museum. Celebrating a double anniversary of bilateral relations between Italy and Romania, over 1000 art works have been loaned to Italy for the first time from museums in Romania and the Moldova Republic, giving a penetrating insight into the lifestyle, customs and artistry of the ancient peoples who transited and inhabited the region between the Black Sea and the Carpathian Mountains

Dacia was rich in gold, which was one of the reasons it was so coveted by the Romans, who conquered it in 101-106 AD under the Emperor Trajan. He celebrated his victory with the majestic sculptured Column that stands to this day beside the modern Piazza Venezia.

Objects in gold, in fact, feature significantly in the exhibition and include the celebrated golden helmet of Cotofenestri, dating from the 4^th century BC, as well as gold bracelets, jewellery and shoulder clasps and golden caparison decorations for parade horses. Other arresting exhibits also include the bronze helmet surmounted by an eagle found in the tomb of a Celtic warrior at Ciumnesti, Transylvania, and the spectacular coiled snake sculpture of the serpent god Glykon of Tomis (Costantia), where the disgraced poet Ovid spent his last days in exile.

The underlying theme throughout the exhibition is the rich mixture of cultures created by the various peoples who settled in the area. Running till the 21^st April 2024.

1000. STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.06.480201 www.museonazionaleromano.beneculturali.it

ST. PETER'S TRIBUTE TO ST. FRANCIS

The 8^th January sees the official end of this year's Christmas festivities, with the gradual dismantling of the street decorations and the removal of the Christmas Tree and the Presepio (Christmas Crib) from the centre of St. Peter's Square.

This year's Presepio was a special homage to St. Francis of Assisi who recreated the first Nativity re-enactment at the clifftop monastery of Greccio (Lazio) 800 years ago in order to bring the Christmas message of peace to his followers. The St. Peter's Crib is therefore a reconstruction of the Greccio grotto, complete with copies of the 1409 wall paintings that can still be seen in situ today.

In addition, the Infant Jesus is not in his mother's arms or lying in the manger, but is held instead by St. Francis of Assisi while a group of Franciscan friars take the place of the usual shepherds.

Other unusual – and sometimes whimsical – interpretations of the Nativity are on show at the Presepio exhibition under the Basilica colonnade.

M.STENHOUSE

Info: www.vaticannews.va

MR.OK'S LAST DIVE

A great New Year disappointment for Rome this year when the fabled Mr. OK renounced his regular dive into the Tiber to herald in 2024.

Mister OK (real name Maurizio Palmulli) had been launching himself on the 18m-high dive into the river from Ponte Cavour bridge near Castel Sant'Angelo on the morning of the 1^st January for the past 35 years. This time, however, backache forced 71-year old Palmulli to forego his annual feat.

The Mr. Okay dive tradition was started in 1946 by Italian-Belgian Rick De Sonny, a flamboyant character who took the plunge wearing a bathing suit and a top hat. He was used to making the OK gesture with his thumb when he emerged from the waters, thus giving him the nickname that stuck when his successor, Palmulli, took over.

Palmulli now hopes that a new, younger Mister Okay will emerge to take his place and carry on the tradition.

Info: www.fanpage.it

GOOD WISHES OF PEACE AND JOY to ALL OUR READERS and FOLLOWERS

FROM  ITALYUPDATE

THE BOLOGNA “GARDEN OF WONDERS”

The renaissance Palace Albergati in Bologna offers a special family Christmas treat with the world premiere of the exhibition : “Fantastic Animals, the Garden of Wonders” where 23 contemporary Italian artists have transformed two floors of the villa into an imaginary zoological garden, peopled by some 90 strange and colourful creatures, creating a magical landscape of dreams, colours and fantasy.

The exhibition is the creation of the Arthemisia company that specializes in novel forms of entertainment and exhibition design. The show runs throughout the holiday season, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and the Befana holiday on the 6^th January, and will continue until the 5^st May 2024.

Info: Tel. +39.051.030141 www.culturabologna.it

TRIUMPH OF LIGHT FOR ITALIAN DAILY

“Il Messaggero” (“The Messenger”), Rome's most popular daily newspaper, celebrates 145 years of life with a spectacular floodlit display covering the entire facade of its monumental headquarters in the heart of Rome.

“Il Messaggero” was founded in 1879 with an initial circulation of 20,000 copies, that quickly increased to 35,000 within the following two years.

The flagship building, that had originally been a luxury hotel, was acquired in 1920 by the then owners, the Perrone family of wealthy industrialists and publishers and it has been a well-known landmark on the major thoroughfare of Via del Tritone ever since.

The present anniversary is being marked by a pavement-to-roof installation projecting the front pages of all the major stories of the century and a half of the paper's history, from the death of national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, the referendum that gave Italian women the vote for the first time, the horrors of the so-called “Years of Lead”, the wars against the Mafia and the World Cup and Olympic victories.

Despite suffering from the general drop in the reading public over the last few years, “Il Messaggero” maintains a faithful following throughout Italy in its printed version, as well as in its digital form.

Info: www.ilmessaggero.it

ITALY CONTINUES TO LEAD IN UNESCO LISTINGS

The gala “Primo” of the new season at La Scala Opera House, Milan, gave Italy's Culture Minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, the perfect showcase to announce the inclusion of the Italian opera music and bel canto tradition in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This nomination brings Italy's list up to 19 in this category and includes exclusive practices like the Mediterranean diet, Cremona violin making, traditional Sicilian puppeteers, Sardinian pastoral songs, Neapolitan pizza makers, truffle hunting and traditional ceremonies like the annual Celestine Forgiveness at L'Aquila.

Italy is also the leader in the World Heritage Sites list with 53 cultural sites plus 6 special Nature sites.

Traditionally, every new La Scala season opens on the 8^th December, the Feast of St. Ambrose, Milan's patron saint. It is a grand occasion in full black tie style, frequented by leading politicians, international media stars, captains of industry and leading lights in the cultural and literary field.

Info: https://ich.unesco.org

ITALY'S "WHITE GOLD”

After a long period of apparent neglect, the splendid porcelains of the historic firm of Richard Ginori are on display at two different venues in Milan.

The major exhibition “White Gold: Three Centuries of Ginori Porcelain” is on until the 19^th February 2024 in the prestigious venue of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum. The exhibition covers a selection of three centuries of Ginori production created at the historic factory just outside Florence. The pieces have been chosen from the Ginori Museum collection, which is at present closed for restoration. They range from the 18^th century classical sculptures that first made Ginori celebrated, to the 19^th century decorated plates, bowls and tea sets commissioned by important clients, to the 20^th century exclusive design pieces created by leading Italian artists like Gio Ponti.

The second seat of the Ginori exhibition is in the patrician Villa Necchi Campiglia, also in Milan, property of the FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) the Italian equivalent of the National Trust. On show in the natural setting of the elegant dining room of the former aristocratic home is the stunning Trionfo da Tavola (table centre piece), created for the Italian Foreign Ministry in 1927-29 - an arte nouveau masterpiece designed by Gio Ponti and Tommaso Buzzi, modelled by Italo Griselli. The piece is on view for the first time in a House/Museum and can be seen until the 28^th January 2024.

Info: Tel +39.02.794889/6334 www.museopoldipezzoli.it FAI: Tel: +39.02.4676151

NEANDERTHALS AT CIRCEO

Recent exciting finds in the Guattari Grotto on the Circeo peninsula south of Rome have revived interest in the life of our remote kindred who inhabited this area thousands of years ago. Skulls and bones of some nine individuals, including one female, dating from between 15,000-18,000 years ago, were discovered in the cave in 2021 by a team of researchers backed by the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the Italian Ministry of Culture and local scientific bodies representing the Frosinone and Latina area, in which the Circeo cave is situated.

The grotto was first entered by a group of workmen in 1939, who reported the discovery of an ancient skull, surrounded by a circle of stones. The discovery aroused great interest in the scientific community but, at the time, landslides made further exploration too risky and difficult.

Seventy-five years were to pass before further explorations began, using more modern methods and archaeologists were rewarded with scattered piles of human and animal bones that they could recover and analyse. Scientists are now able to reconstruct the appearance of these Neanderthal individuals, including the woman, who is described as approximately 1.5 m tall, robust and weighing 50 kgs.

The cave was also full of the bones of many animals who lived in the area thousands of years ago, like elephants, cave bears, wild horses, rhinoceros and aurochs – all much bigger than equivalent species today. Scientists believe that the cave was formerly a hyena's den where the animals had dragged their victims to feast on their brains.

The Circeo peninsula is in the middle of vast conservation area with a rich ecosystem. It has been the subject of legend since the times of Homer's “Odyssey”, when the mysterious island of the Enchantress Circe became identified with her.

At the moment, the cave is open to the public only on special request with prior booking obligatory. However, the local authorities hope to make it more available in the near future with regular organized guided visits.

M. STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.06.326561 www.segreteria@parcocirceo.it