Museo Nazionale Romano

Welcome to the Museo Nazionale Romano, specifically the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. We are standing in one of the world's most significant repositories of ancient art. …

As we move into the first-floor galleries, we are met by one of the most famous depictions of the first emperor: Augustus as Pontifex Maximus. This statue, found on the Via Labicana, shows Augustus in his later years. …

Now, we come to one of the most moving and visceral sculptures in the history of art: the Boxer at Rest, or the Pugilist. This first-century BC bronze was discovered on the Quirinal Hill in eighteen eighty-five, and it is a…

Adjacent to the Boxer is another extraordinary bronze, the so-called Hellenistic Prince. This tall, athletic figure stands in a heroic pose, leaning on a spear, his body a study in idealized physical perfection. …

In the epigraphic section, we find one of the most thrilling survivors of the ancient world: the Fasti Praenestini. This is the best-preserved and most detailed Roman calendar in existence, created by the scholar Verrius Flaccus…

Prepare to descend into a subterranean paradise. These extraordinary frescoes come from the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, the wife of Augustus. …

Finally, we stand before the Discobolus, or the Discus Thrower. This second-century AD marble statue is a Roman copy of a lost Greek bronze by the sculptor Myron, dating to around four hundred and fifty BC. …

As we conclude our journey through the Museo Nazionale Romano, we leave with a deeper understanding of the people who built the world we still inhabit. We have seen the face of Augustus, the sweat of the Boxer, the logic of the…