ALTEMPS PALACE - NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM (fifth part)

Other Rooms on the First Floor

ROOM OF THE SMALL LUDOVISI SARCOPHAGUS

“Small Ludovisi Sarcophagus” 170/180 with the representation of a Roman victory

Compared to the Large Ludovisi Sarcophagus images are more adherent to the Hellenistic tradition

The dating is due to similarity with reliefs of the Column of Marcus Aurelius. The hole in the left side was done when the sarcophagus was used as a basin for a fountain

“Two reliefs”

“Base with inscription” or Julia Heuresis' Altar

“Man with toga sitting” is perhaps the poet Menander

It is signed by Zenon son of Attinas from Aphrodisias in the region of southwestern Turkey known as Caria. The head is ancient but not relevant

“Relief Salio Knight” second century AD

“Trophy with captives” about 195

ROOM OF THE OBELISKS

Muse “Urania” first century AD and “Calliope” 117/138, respectively, muse of astronomy and epic poetry, maybe from original of the second century BC by Philiskos of Rhodes

“Pan and Daphnis” first century AD from an original of about 100 BC by Heliodoros of Rhodes

The heads were carved during the eighteenth century restoration. The satyr Pan taught to play the syringe to the young shepherd Daphnis

“Satyr and Nymph” end of the second century BC

The face of the satyr was attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the comparison with Dionysian work of his at the Metropolitan Museum in New York

“Dadophorus” restored by Alessandro Algardi

ROOM OF THE DUCHESS

Private living room of the Duchess Isabella Lante Altemps, who married the Duke Pietro in 1636

Frieze “Mythological episodes, including Galatea on chariot pulled by dolphins” 1654 by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (1610/62) from Viterbo a pupil of Pietro da Cortona

“Crouching Aphrodite” Hadrian's period from the original by Doidalsas

“Eros and Psyche” pastiche by Alessandro Algardi who combined two statues of two different periods

“Putto with a towel”

“Female Bust”

ANTECHAMBER OF THE DUCHESS

Remains of the frieze by Polidoro Caldara aka Polidoro da Caravaggio (about 1495/1543) and Maturino da Firenze (?/1528) detached from one of the external façades of the palace

“Shortly after Polidoro's departure from Rome because of the Sack of Rome in 1527, Maturino die for the plague. Notwithstanding the early ending of the Roman activity of the two artists, their influence on the younger generations, even on masters active long afterwards such as Pietro da Cortona, didn't die down. The fact itself that their works were visible by everybody and were perhaps the highest note in the image of the new Rome contributed substantially to their popularity: as education tools for young artists their works seemed to be particularly fitting because, better than many others, would show how models derived from antiquity could be useful for modern painting” (Hermann Voss)

“Aphrodite to the bathroom” I sec. B.C. original by Doidalsas

“Child with Goose” Hadrian's period (117/138)

“Spiral column” on “Altar of Cecilius Gorgonius”

ROOM OF BACCHUSES

“Satyr pouring”

“Dionysus”

“Modern Dionysus”

“Bust of archaic Egyptian pharaoh” third century BC

HALL OF THE APIS BULL

“Ox Apis” second century BC also known as Torello Brancaccio

“Statue of Pharaoh” third century BC

Relief from Ariccia with “Isiac procession and Ox Apis”

“Statuette of Isis”

“Headless statue of a priestess”

HALL OF THE SANCTUARY OF JANICULUM HILL

Statue of “Osiris Chronocrator”

“Jupiter enthroned like Hadad”

“Statue of Dionysus”

ROOM OF THE CLERGY OF ISIS

“Two portraits”. “Hairstyle”. “Altar”. “Candelabra”

ROOM OF THE ISEUM SERAPEUM IN CAMPUS MARTIUS

“Relief from Behbeit el-Hagar temple” found in Via S. Caterina da Siena, where the Iseum Campensis (Temple of Isis) once stood

“Lion” and “Sphinx” fragmentary

“Torso of Pharaoh”

“Head of a priest of Isis”

ROOM SO-CALLED D’ANNUNZIO

Only room of the palace with preserved eighteenth-century ambience

The Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio married the last member of the Altemps family

“Statue of Isis” found in Passo Corese and “Head of Isiac priestess”

ROOM OF SERAPIS AND OF THE ROMAN EMPERORS

“Bas-relief with Nero's royal couple as Pharaoh”

“Statue of Serapis seated”

“Two heads of Serapis”

“Head of a priest of Isis”

VESTIBULE ENTRANCE TO THE APARTMENT OF ROBERTO ALTEMPS

“Mattei Herm”

HALL OF PORTRAITS OF THE APARTMENT OF ROBERTO ALTEMPS

“Six Heads” and “Two busts” of emperors, philosophers and heroes

“Funerary reliefs of the Republican period”

“Front of a sarcophagus with scenes of Roma origin” age of Antoninus Pius

“Capital with winged victories and decorations” 306/337 from the Baths of Caracalla

At the center of the dining table with the medals of Victor Emmanuel II

ALTEMPS PALACE - NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM (fourth part)

ANTECHAMBER OF THE FOUR SEASONS

Frieze with “Landscapes” maybe by Antonio Viviani aka il Sordo (1560/1620) pupil of Federico Fiori aka Barocci

“Head of Hera” second or first century BC

Beautiful “Head of Heracles” first century AD

“Fragment of a sarcophagus with the myth of Phaedra” third century AD

BEDROOM OF THE CARDINAL

Frieze “Battle scenes” painted in tempera in the seventeenth century by Francesco Allegrini (1587/1663) designed by Antonio Tempesta (about 1555/1630)

“Dionysian mask” in ancient red marble, probably part of a fountain

Heads “Igea” and “Attis”. “Sarcophagus with Judgement of Paris”, all statues of the Hadrian's period (117/138)

The head of Attis originally represented Athena and the Phrygian cap was added by the restorer

STUDIO OF THE CLEMENCY

In the vault “Life of the Virgin Mary” 1590 Vitruvio Alberi (active 1575/died after 1590)

“Base with winged dancers” of the Augustan period

PAINTED LOGGIA OR GALLERY

In the vault “Pergola with animals and fruits some of which exotic” 1595 Vitruvio Alberi, Pasquale Cati and Antonio Viviani aka il Sordo (1560/1620)

The fountain dates back to 1594

“Twelve portraits of Caesars” including Nerva, Antoninus Pius and Tiberius

PARTY ROOM OR FIREPLACE ROOM

Martino Longhi the Elder (1534/91) who also designed the fireplace

“Galatian's suicide with his wife” copy from a bronze original of the period of Julius Caesar found in the Villa Ludovisi gardens formerly Gardens of Sallust

It is part of the sculptural group that was in turn part of the votive offering dedicated by Attalus I (240/197 BC) in the sanctuary of Athena Nikephoros at Pergamon to mark the victory of 228 BC on Galatians

According to Filippo Coarelli the group included also the Dying Gaul in the Capitoline Museums, whose base fits perfectly in the one of the Galatian Suicide. The group was completed by another statue of Dead Galatian Woman with Child

The arm that holds the sword is restored but the original had the opposite direction and also the original left arm of the woman had to be more realistically lower

“The whole figure is crossed by a dynamic twist drill which starts from the right foot, spread through the legs, very wide apart in a direction oblique to the axis represented by the torso and ends with the head turned in the opposite direction of the upwards torsional movement. The elegant execution of the bodies and the intense expression of suffering make this a sculptural group one the dramatic masterpieces of the Hellenistic age” (Lucio Fiorini - TMG)

“Large Ludovisi Sarcophagus” about 250, with battle between Romans and barbarians

“The all classical attention for the analysis of individual figures and the refinement of their specific articulation, surely connected with Attic experiences, oversees the composition to give maximum relief to the figure of the deceased in arms, but at the same time results in a vibrant and exciting overall effect that denies any spatial naturalistic space” (Gian Luca Grassigli - TMG)

“Bust of Mars” second century AD with bust added in 1500s

“Ludovisi Fury” maybe fragment of Dead Galatian Woman with Child belonging to the group of Attalus I

Chiesa di S. Aniceto

St. Anicet's Church

Begun in 1603 at the behest of Giovanni Angelo Altemps son of poor Roberto, the only church with a tomb of a pope in a private home

S. Aniceto (155/166) was the eleventh pope and his body was found in 1602 in the Catacomb of St. Sebastian

On the walls

“Stories of St. Anicet” with inspiration from the martyrdom by beheading of Roberto Altemps by Antonio Circignani aka Pomarancio (about 1568/1629), son of Niccolò Circignani

Vault

“Glory of St. Anicet” and “Angels bearing palms on the left and instruments of torture on the right” by Polidoro Mariottini

Reliquary of 1612 with the relics of Sts Anicet, Zosimus and Famianus in an “Ancient yellow Urn” which, according to tradition, contained the bones of Alexander Severus (222/235)

Behind “Cycle of oil paintings about St. Anicet” 1612 Ottavio Leoni (1578/1630)

OCTAGONAL CHAPEL AND SACRISTY

Wooden door with incredible security lock

CHAPEL OF St. CHARLES BORROMEO

Fragment of St. Charles Borromeo's vestment, musical scores late 1500 and early 1600 written for the Church of St. Anicet

ALTEMPS PALACE - NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM (third part)

Teatro Goldoni

One of the oldest in Rome. Here Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed

It was used as a cinema in 1905 with the technique of the magic lantern

Decorations made at the end of 1800s

It was restored by Francesco Vespignani (1842/99)

GRAND STAIRCASE

Three statues, three portraits and “Greek Stele with relief vase”

First Floor

OPEN GALLERY

“Two female figures with drapes”

On the wall reliefs in the Del Drago Collection:

Two reliefs with “Various gods” 160/180 AD

“Washing of the feet” 150/170 AD

“Funeral Feast” Greek original beginning of the fourth century BC

“Dioscuri” Greek original fifth or fourth century BC from the Brancaccio collection

ROOM OF VENUS JANDOLO

“Jandolo Venus in the bathroom” Hadrian's period from original by Doidalsas of the fourth century BC

“Bust of Septimius Severus (193/211)”

ROOM OF THE PAINTED PERSPECTIVES

Maybe it was the original chapel of the fifteenth-century palace

Cardinal Altemps ordered to paint a porch after 1568 to Vitruvio Alberi (active 1575/died after 1590) and Pasquale Cati (1537/1612) and a frieze with putti to Lattanzio Bonastri (about 1572/died after 1580)

“Hermes Loghios” late first/early second century AD from the original of the fifth century BC restored arbitrarily in 1631 by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654) with one arm raised

This gesture gave the statue its name loghios, attribute of Hermes as god of eloquence. On the hair and on the mantle there are traces of red functional to painting the hair in a golden color

“Hercules” II sec. B.C. known as the Lenbach type

“Hermes headless” first century AD

“Asclepius” god of medicine, known among the Romans as Aesculapius

“Bust of Satyr” in gray marble on urn and altar, restored in 1600s maybe by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

ROOM OF THE PLATE RACK

Frescoes of dishes maybe by the workshop of Melozzo Ambrosi aka Melozzo da Forlì (1438/94)

“Ares Ludovisi” late second century BC in Pentelic marble

Maybe by Skopas Minor restored by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) in the hilt of the sword, the small eros and elsewhere

According to Filippo Coarelli it is the Achilles receiving from his mother Thetis the weapons she had received from Hephaestus

It was part of a group of sculptures, including also the Thetis of Palazzo Massimo, placed in the Temple of Neptune in the Campus Martius (corresponding now to the House of Manili) on a base identified as the Altar of Domitius Enobarbus fragments of which are now both in the Louvre and in Munich

“The eclectic nature of the work has been emphasized: to the Phidian pose of the Ares, similar to the image of the god in the frieze of the Parthenon, corresponds, in fact, the pathetic facial expression similar to Skopa's style, even though Praxiteles' style is also recognizable in the head. Echoes of Lysippus are also detectable in the proportions of the body and in his conception of space” (Lucio Fiorini - TMG)

“Warrior” of the Antonine period. Body of Pentelic marble, head of Parian marble

“Group of Electra and Orestes” first century AD in the neo-Attic period, signed by Menelaos

ROOM OF THE STORIES OF MOSES

Frescoes with “Stories of Moses” 1591 by Pasquale Cati (1537/1612)

“Hera Ludovisi” in Parian marble

Maybe a portrait of Antonia Minor mother of Claudius (41/54), revered by Goethe as my first Roman love and believed to be an original Greek by Winckelmann who considered it a milestone in the history of ancient statuary

“Acrolith Ludovisi” 480/470 BC Greek original, part of a cult statue, probably Venus

“Ludovisi Throne” 460 BC Greek original, maybe from Magna Graecia (Locri in Calabria) or more likely brought with the Acrolith Ludovisi in 184 from the Temple of Erice in Sicily to be placed in the Temple of Venus Erycina on the Quirinal

It was not a throne but probably the decoration of a sacred well

Federico Zeri believed, probably mistakenly, that it was a fake of the nineteenth century

An acrolith was a statue with the exposed parts of the body in marble and the rest in wood covered with metal, perhaps gilded bronze

“It is more likely the parapet of a bothros (sacred well) in the Ionic temple of Marasà, in the urban area of Locri. For the complexity of the decorative and fine execution, it must have been an important commission, maybe public, for an expert sculptor in marble and thoroughly permeated by the style of the Islands of the Ionic sea” (Marina Castoldi)

“The flute player is the first female Greek nude carved of which we know of since the geometrical Athenian ivories. Although in the statues there errors in anatomy, the overall composition is very well structured” (John Griffiths Pedley)

ALTEMPS PALACE - NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM (second part)

Ground Floor

ATRIUM OF ANTONINUS PIUS

The “Statue of Antoninus Pius (138/161)” 140/147 restored in the seventeenth century introduces the first part of the Ludovisi Collection

PASSAGE OF PLUTUS AND ZEUS

Heads of “Pluto” and “Zeus”

ROOM OF PORTRAITS

“Julia” 90 AD

She was the daughter of Emperor Titus (79/81) who offered her as wife to her uncle Domitian, brother of Titus

He refused her as he was enamored of Domitia Longina. Julia later married Titus Flavius Sabinus

She had, however, an affair with her uncle Domitian already at the time of her marriage and Domitian, after the death of Titus and Flavius Sabinus, took Julia to live with him as husband and wife

Julia died pregnant and was deified. Notable in this portrait are the holes for earrings

“Matidia” 120 AD

The bust dates back to the seventeenth century and it is made out of portasanta marble

She was the daughter of Ulpia Marciana, the sister of Trajan (98/117) and mother of Sabina, the wife of Hadrian (117/138)

Hadrian transformed her into a goddess and even dedicated her a temple in 119. Such unbelievable love for a mother-in-law

“Julius Caesar” sixteenth century

“Prince” of the Augustan period (27 BC/14)

The nose arbitrarily restored gives a different aspect to this member of the Julio-Claudian family

“Demeter”

“Demosthenes” second century AD

Copy from original by Polyeuktos pupil of Lysippus active in the third century BC

“Aristotle” Hadrian's period (117/138)

Copy of the bronze original by Lysippus (about 370/300 a.C.) commissioned by Alexander the Great

“Antinous”

“Marcus Aurelius Ludovisi” with only the original Roman bust of porphyry and seventeenth century bronze head inspired by the Capitoline Hill Marcus Aurelius on horseback

This bust enjoyed great popularity and was mentioned in many publications

ROOM OF THE TOWER

Archaeological excavations

Fragments of Roman frescoes and artifacts of ceramic, glass and metals found here

ROOM OF THE HERMS

“Two Apollo Citaredo” first or second century AD, both restored in 1600 by Ippolito Buzio (1578/1659)

The head of the Apollo with the higher lyre, sculpted by Buzio just like the other, deceived Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717/78) who regarded it as the second most beautiful of antiquity after the one of the Apollo of Belvedere

“Six Herms” second century BC

“Decorative Vase”

“Fountain basin in ophite”

ENTRANCE HALL OF THE RIARIO PALACE

“Aphrodite of Cnidus” from an original of the fourth century BC by Praxiteles (about 395/326 BC)

The torso is original, limbs and head were sculpted by Ippolito Buzio

“Demeter”

“Head of Aphrodite of Cnidus known as Niobe”

HALL OF ATHENA ALGARDI

“Athena” or maybe Igea, restored by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)

HALL OF ATHENA PARTHENOS

“Athena Parthenos” I century BC with arms restored, signed by the Athenian Antiochus

ROOM OF SARCOPHAGI

Fake wallpaper of a medieval house

“Sarcophagus with labors of Hercules” 240/250

“Dionysiac Sarcophagus”

Two seated statues: “Muse” and “Female statue called Nymph”

RIARIO ROOM

“Veneziani Maenad” restored with a not relevant ancient head

It was found in 1777 at Tor Tre Teste near Via Prenestina. It belonged to an English nobleman

It has recently passed to the Italian state from the Veneziani family as payment “in kind” of inheritance tax

HALL OF ULYSSES AND POLYPHEMUS

“Fragmented relief with Ulysses”

In the center “Herculean Torso”

HALL OF DIONYSUS AND SATYR WITH A PANTHER

“Dionysus and Satyr with a panther” second century AD

It was found in the sixteenth century in the Baths of Constantine on Quirinal Hill. Restored in the seventeenth century

NORTH PORTICO

“Colossal statue of the Dacian” in yellow marble from Tunisia with restoration parts in black marble

“Modesty” republican funerary statue

“Dionysus as Apollo Lyceum”

Altars and sarcophagi lids

ALTEMPS PALACE - NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM (first part)

PALAZZO ALTEMPS

Piazza S. Apollinare 8

Begun after 1471 for Girolamo Riario, who married Caterina Sforza in 1477

Continued in the years 1511/23 for Cardinal Francesco Soderini from Volterra

Purchased in 1568 by Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps who had it completed and renewed by Martino Longhi the Elder (1534/91)

Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps was the nephew of Pius IV Medici (1559/65) and the father of poor Robert Altemps who was beheaded only twenty years old for adultery in 1586 under Sixtus V Peretti (1585/90)

The covered roof loggia dates to 1585

Embossing on the corners by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602)

The construction phases of the building went on for over a century and a half in total

Restored in 1837 by Virginio Vespignani (1808/82) and in 1949 Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960)

The Altemps family was originally from Tyrol and the original name was Sittich von Hohenems transformed in Sittico Altemps when they settled in early 1500s, first in Milan, where they became relatives of the Milanese Medici, and later in Rome

MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO

National Roman Museum

It is made out of five different museums in five different locations. The other four are Palazzo Massimo, Crypta Balbi, Museo delle Terme and Museo del Palatino

Collections assembled in this museum:

ALTEMPS COLLECTION

LUDOVISI BONCOMPAGNI COLLECTION

MATTEI COLLECTION from Villa Celimontana

EGYPTIAN COLLECTION OF THE MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO

DEL DRAGO COLLECTION

The majority of the statues in this museum have been restored and remodeled mainly in the seventeenth century

Courtyard

Maybe by Antonio Giamberti aka Antonio da Sangallo the Elder (about 1460/1534) and Baldassarre Peruzzi (1481/1536), but finished by Martino Longhi the Elder (1534/91)

Four statues of the second century AD from the Altemps Collection:

“Maenad”, “Hercules sitting”, “Gladiator at rest” and “Female Figure”

Under the porch statues from the collection of Villa Mattei Celimontana damaged by vandals and thieves