This month's sculptures from Hadrian's Villa are a pair of dark-grey marble statues of centaurs. The sculptures became famous due to their sculptors' outstanding workmanship and the rarity and high quality of their materials. The group was carved in bigio morato marble from the quarries of Göktepe near Aphrodisias in Caria (modern-day Turkey). The statues… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: The Furietti Centaurs
During a recent trip to Rome, I paid a long overdue visit to the Centrale Montemartini, an annexe of the Capitoline Museums located on the Via Ostiense just beyond Porta San Paolo. Centrale Montemartini was Rome's first electrical power station when it opened in 1912, and was later converted into a museum of ancient Roman… Continue reading When in Rome… a visit to the Centrale Montemartini
This month’s sculpture from Hadrian’s Villa is a red-marble statue of a satyr, the so-called "Fauno rosso" (red faun). The Fauno rosso depicts a satyr follower of Dionysus, the god of wine. He is depicted entirely nude, apart from a nebris (faun skin) knotted on the right shoulder and hanging down over his left shoulder.… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Statue of a satyr in red marble
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble statue of a young nude, the so-called 'Capitoline Antinous'. It was found in 1723/24 when Giuseppe Fede undertook the earliest concerted excavations at the Villa Adriana. However, its exact provenance within the Villa is unknown. Considering that this work was found at Villa Adriana and owing… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Statue of the young god Hermes, known as ‘Capitoline Antinous’
About halfway along today’s via del Corso, once called via Lata, a large arch of Roman age spanned the street up to the mid 17th century. It was earlier known as the Arcus Hadriani, but in the 16th century, the arch was renamed Arco di Portogallo (Arch of Portugal) because it adjoined the residence of the… Continue reading The Hadrianic reliefs from the Arch of Portugal (Arco di Portogallo), Rome
