Of all of the wonderful sculpture that we saw, I think that this bronze rendition of the Boxer at Rest is among my favorites. Now in the National Museum of Rome, it was excavated in Rome in 1885. The detailing in the bronze is very fine. He bears the cuts and marks of his most recent fight and is still wearing his caestus, leather-wraps that served as boxing gloves in ancient times. Even without the eyes, the boxer’s face is incredibly expressive. He gazes up from his hunched position, clearly still reeling from his last fight, and perhaps gearing himself up for the next one. While walking around the sculpture, I was very curious as to how it was constructed. He was made using the lost-wax process, wherein multiple different segments are cast using wax. The pieces are then connected together, in this case with such skill that the joins are essentially invisible.

This dazzling monument (1885-1925) on the Piazza Venezia is dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of a united Italy. The monument not only celebrates the king but also the unification of Italy as one nation and signals its future destiny for greatness. King Emanuele dominates a central position in the monument, commemorated with a bronze equestrian sculture seated on a decorated marble pedestal. The pedestal’s decorations feature fourteen female allegorical representations of the fourteen aristocratic cities that came under the control of the king with the unification of Italy in 1871. The monument also includes sixteen allegorical sculptures of the different regions in Italy — an allusion to the ancient tradition of provincial allegorical representations common in roman monuments. Furthermore, the equestrian sculpture—an homage to great generals—also originated in the ancient world. Of course, the monument itself is built in a highly classical style, with its use of marble as building material, inclusion of a great colonnade, and overall structural resemblance to ancient sanctuaries. These invocations of Italy’s ancient past were meant to foretell the fate of a unified Italy—legacy to the Roman Empire and a future destined to greatness.         

The painting of Beatrice Cenci by Guido Reni that is today found in the Palazzo Barberini was incredibly influential during the 19th century and features prominently in Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun. Beatrice Cenci was the daughter of an abusive Roman nobleman who killed her father. Despite being the victim of her father’s depravity, Beatrice was found guilty of patricide in court and was therefore beheaded . In the Marble Faun, the haunting portrait of Beatrice leads to a debate on the nature of sin and guilt between the two main characters Hilda and Miriam. Was Beatice an avenger justified in her actions or a murderess who received the appropriate punishment?  Although influential with visitors to Rome in the 19th century, today art historians doubt whether this painting is by Guido Reni or even if the figure depicted is Beatrice Cenci. Regardless of this, it is the profound impact that this painting has had on the imagination of such historical figures as Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and Lord Byron that make this piece  so interesting.

 

The Foro Italico is a sports complex located on the outer parts of the city that was built in the 1930s under the reign of Mussolini. The site serves as a perfect example of Italian fascist architecture and makes many deliberate attempts to recall and link the fascist government of Mussolini to the former greatness of Ancient Rome. To begin, originally called the Foro Mussolini, the Foro Italico is very much in the mold of the imperial fora, establishing Mussolini as the next great leader of Rome and inserting himself into the historical narrative as a continuation of the past. Secondly, a massive obelisk with the words “Mussolini Dux” and the fasces carved into the side towers over the entrance. The obelisk recalls the obelisks that the ancient Romans brought from Egypt as symbols of the Empire’s growing dominion while the word “Dux” is the Latin title for a victorious general. In both cases, it is clear Mussolin is presenting himself using  the same means and methods utilized by the ancient Romans themselves.

                                                

Lastly, the racetrack within the complex is surrounded by massive marble statues very much in the classical nude style. The highly muscled physiques of these statues embody the importance of “virtus” or manly virtue, emphasizing the role of sport as a means for preparing for war in line with the fascist agenda.

 

Altogether what is perhaps most unbelievable is the fact that all this remains and is used as a site to host modern sport events. I wonder whether every time people file past these features on their way to watch the game do they recall the history and understand the messages? How can people so casually not be bothered by one of the darkest moments of Italy’s modern history? Overall, it was surreal to visit the foro italico and see all these remnants of Mussolini’s Italy regarded as normal.

The Ara Pacis was built in the late 1st century BC to celebrate the Pax Romana, the age of peace and stability ushered in by the reign of the emperor Augustus after decades of civil war. From an art historical standpoint, the Ara Pacis is famous for the detailed reliefs that adorn it’s different sides depicting Augustan themes of dynasty, piety, and empire. Although, today we associate classical art & architecture with pristine, white marble, it is a mistake to think that this is what these objects looked like in antiquity. In reality, the Ara Pacis, like other ancient Roman monuments,  was originally painted, only losing its pigments over the centuries. It is often difficult to imagine the effect that these polychromatic images must have had and to have seen these monuments as the ancient Romans did, but  the new exhibit at the museum of the Ara Pacis makes use of augmented reality to do such that. Using special headgear, visitors can see what the reliefs on the Ara Pacis might have looked like with color and lets us come one step closer to experiencing the monument as Augustus originally intended.