CLASSICAL ANTIQUITIES DEPARTMENT

Heracle and Oceanus

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Pennsylvania Patrons

Heracle This impressive statue was property of the D’Este family and located in Villa D’Este, Tivoli, between 1572 and the end of the XVIII century when it became part of the Vatican collection. Since 1907 this statue has been located in the centrally and much visited “Cortile della Pigna”. Heracles is represented lying upon a dead lion skin (the Lion Nemeo that he killed in his first enterprise) with a club in his right hand. This statue of Heracles is an ancient copy of an original Greek statue made by the sculptor Skopas, which dates back to the IV century B.C. Oceanus This colossal statue was originally located in the Barberini Villa of Castel Gandolfo. In 1832 it was bought by the Camuccini brothers for the Chiaramonti Museum and is now located in the southern side of the “Cortile della Pigna”, one of the most crowded and popular places of the Vatican Museums. This sculpture represents the god Oceanus lying on a bed of stones. Part of his back is leaning against a pillow made of waves. Two dolphins are the ornaments of his crown.

Opening and Exhibit of Roman Necropolis of the Via Trionfale in Vatican City

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Canada Patrons

In 2003 during the construction of a new parking lot within Vatican City brought to light a Roman necropolis with a immense number of archaeological treasures dating from the 1st B.C. - 4th Century A.D to the periods of Augustus and Constantine. Some of these present interesting fresco, stucco and mosaic decoration. The immediate intervention of the Vatican Museum’s archaeological team enabled the discovery of over forty family burial niches as well as a number of individual tombs, all in a well preserved state. Funerary altars, sarcophagi (one of which with Christian iconography) and a large number of inscriptions rich in information on the population buried here. Among these are buried servants, nobles, but also free men, even a cavalier. On some tombs the place or origin and employment of the defunct is specified, offering us an exceptional account of their daily life. Also of great importance are the lanterns used in funerary rituals still in place on top or to the side of the tombs, as well as the hooks for the funerary wreaths over the altars. This magnificent archaeological excavation will be opened to the public next Fall and it will be possible to visit the site by request. The site has been housed within the edifice of the new parking garage and is considered one of the most important areas of the necropolis that extended from the Vatican Hill (the Colle Vaticano) along the Via Trionfale that from Veio arrived to the city of Rome. The importance of this site is second only to the necropolis below St. Peter’s Basilica with the tomb of St. Peter. This project entails the set-up of steel walkways and ramps for public access as well as a lighting system, glass cases, structures to display lapidary objects, didactic panels and a video illustration of the excavations. In addition, a grandiose campaign to restore the sepulchral monuments and lapidary stones is predicted. Thanks to the Patrons from Canada, we will be able to gain a more profound appreciation of our ancestors.