The museum has been closed for renovation since 2014.
History and general introduction
The museum from the outside
The museum was designed by the architects Pietro Ascheri, D. Bernardini and Cesare Pascoletti[1] (1939–1941). Its 59 sections[2] illustrate the history of Roman civilization from its origins to the 4th century, with models and reproductions, as well as original material. The premises are shared with a planetarium.
Il Plastico di Roma Imperiale, a 1:250 scale[3] model of ancient Rome in the age of Constantine I by Italo Gismondi (Room XXXVII-XXXVIII), derived from the early 3rd-century SeveranForma Urbis Romae as updated by Lanciani and integrated with archeological discoveries. This model is made of plaster. The model was ordered by Mussolini in 1933 in honor of Augustus's 2000th birthday, was begun in 1935, and adjusted throughout Gismondi's life until 1971.
a complete sequence of casts of the spiral reliefs round Trajan's Column,[3] arranged in horizontal rows at ground level to facilitate reading.
a reconstructed Roman library based on that in the Villa Adriana at Tivoli[4]
The museum was closed for renovation in January 2014.[5] Work on the renovation was started in June 2017;[6] as of January 2024, no date has been announced for the reopening.
Structure
There are three main itineraries through the museum:
Historical sections
Thematic sections
Model of Imperial Rome
Historical sections
Room V-VI: Roman Legends and Primitive Culture - the origins of Rome
Scale reconstruction model (1:20) of the Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie, France
Scale reconstruction model (1:200) of the Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France
Room X: The family of Augustus and the Julio-Claudian emperors
Room XI: The Flavian Dynasty
Room XII: Trajan and Hadrian
Room XIII: The emperors from Antoninus Pius to the Severans
Room XIV: The emperors from Macrinus to Justinian
Room XV: Christianity
Room XVI: The army
Room XVIII: Model of archaic Rome
Thematic sections
Room XXXVI: School
Room XXXIX: Living spaces
Room XLVI: Rights
Room XLVII: Libraries
Room XLVIII: Music
Room XLIX: Literature and science
Room L: Medicine and drugs
Room LI: Trajan's Column
Room LII: Industry and craft
Room LIII: Agriculture, herding and land management
Room LIV: Hunting, fishing and food
Room LV: Commerce and economic life
Room LVI: Art of rome
Model of Imperial Rome
Room XXXVII-XXXVIII: Model of Imperial Rome (in the age of Constantine I)
Appearance in popular culture
Il Plastico is today the most important reference for any serious attempt of reconstruction of the Ancient Rome: it has been used for the "Rome Reborn 1.0" 3D Visualization Project (B. Frischer, Director, University of Virginia; D. Favro, Associate Director, UCLA; D. Abernathy, Director of 3D Modeling, University of Virginia; G. Guidi, Director of 3D Scanning, Politecnico di Milano). Gismondi's model can be seen also in a few shots of Ridley Scott's Gladiator.
In the James Bond film Spectre, the marble colonnade of the museum doubled as a cemetery after the Archconfraternity of the Departed[7] confraternity barred the filming of a funeral scene at the Campo Verano cemetery.[8][9] The music video of the song "Cruel Summer" Ace of Base was also filmed at here in 1998.
References
^The Buildings of Europe: Rome, section 191, Christopher Woodward, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1995, ISBN 0-7190-4032-9
^s.r.o, Tripomatic. "Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome, Italy". travel.sygic.com.
^ a b"Museo della Civiltà Romana (Museum of Roman Civilization) in Rome - Attraction | Frommer's". www.frommers.com.
^"Museum of Roman Civilization, Rome, Italy". www.museolibroantico.com.
^"Resta chiuso il Museo della Civiltà Romana durante il Giubileo". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
^"Al via i lavori al Museo della Civiltà Romana - aperto il cantiere da venerdì 9 giugno 2017". www.museociviltaromana.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-11-06.
^Arciconfraternita di Carità verso i Trapassati
^"James Bond: New 'Spectre' Pic Starts Rome Segment Shoot". Variety. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
^"James Bond ordered not to film in Roman cemetery". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
External links
Official website
Model of Archaic Rome
Media related to Museo della Civiltà Romana (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons