Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Foundation walls of a Roman farm seen from the exhibition hall inside the Auditorium

In 1995, during the preliminary earthmoving work for the construction of the new Auditorium (a group of concert halls), significant remains of walls from a historical period between the middle of the VIth century BC and the beginning of the IIIrd century AD came to light. In 1996-98, a complete excavation of the area was carried out, which led to the discovery of the evidence of a complex of buildings and courtyards with a surface area of over 2,000 m2.

Photos taken during the excavations: (left) aerial view of the villa/farm; (right-above) "dolium", a large jar for storing commodities; (right-below) oil press

The oldest building, a rustic farmhouse of the Archaic period, probably lived in by a wealthy farmer, citizen and soldier of Rome, was demolished around 500 BC and a large patrician villa, associated with a walled village probably intended for farm workers, was built on its remains (500-300 BC). Subsequent interventions, of which at least three phases have been identified, significantly altered the layout of the villa, which was finally abandoned in the early decades of the IIIrd century AD.

(left-above): oil press; (left-below) fragment of decorated pottery; (right) kitchen pots

Two rooms next to Sala Sinopoli, a large concert hall of the Auditorium (1,133 seats), house wooden models illustrating the architecture of the farmhouse and the villa in its various phases, together with the most important archaeological findings, especially kitchen, table and cult pottery. Specific contexts, such as a kitchen pantry, a bread oven and an oil press, are also reconstructed, testifying to the production and storage of food.

Corner gutter tile decorated with floral motifs and the head of a horned river god

A large corner gutter tile of the Vth/IVth century BC buildings was found buried in the ground, most likely on purpose as a safeguard against the evil eye. It ends with a human head and in the context of the location it likely depicts the nearby River Tiber, or maybe just a satyr. Entrance to the small museum is free and from its terrace it is possible to see some foundation walls of the farm/villa.

Aristaios Museum (Collezione Sinopoli)

Giuseppe Sinopoli (1946-2001) is best known as a conductor, but he was a man of varied interests. At the request of his father, in addition to studying composition, he studied medicine and graduated at the University of Padua with a dissertation on the physiology of the areas of the brain concerned with creating the sensations of sound. He developed an interest in archaeology, in particular in Greek pottery, and he died of a heart attack two days before receiving his Degree in Archaeology at the University of Rome. In the course of his life Sinopoli collected a number of ancient vessels which had attracted his attention.
The Sala del Peduncolo, a space of over 300 m2 near the archaeological museum houses 161 exhibits bought by the Italian State from the heirs of Sinopoli. The shape and furnishing of the hall were designed by the Alvisi Kirimoto studio. The museum is dedicated to Aristaios, a Greek shepherd king/god who taught agriculture and whom Sinopoli regarded as the symbol of the rebirth of nature in a short novel he wrote about a villa he had at Salina, a small island north of Sicily.

(Exhibit 140) Black Figure ovoid neck amphora of the Fallow Deer painter 560-550 BC: (left) two warriors are fighting observed by other figures (running below both shields, a "nonsense" inscription); (right) the fighters are observed by two cavalrymen

The exhibits range from Minoan ceramics dating back to 3200 BC to works of art from Magna Graecia dating back to 300 BC, thus testifying to the various phases that marked the birth and development of Greek civilization. On show in large transparent display cases there are examples of Minoan, Mycenaean, Geometric, Corinthian, Laconian, Greek-Oriental, Attic black and red figurines, Italian red figurines and local ceramics from Daunia (Apulia). Those which can be attributed to Attic production are of exceptional quality.
The Fallow Deer Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter of the Tyrrhenian Group active ca. 560-545 BC, whose works have been found at Vulci and Tarquinia. The name derives from the depiction of fallow deer with white spots on the back on several vases. In the amphora shown above shields, helms and other objects are painted in red.

(Exhibit 158) Attic red-figure calyx of the Painter of the Oinochoe of Yale (460-450): (left) Hera in the act of making a libation; (right) Athena being offered a libation

The Athenian red-figure vase-painter is named after an oinochoe (a jug for pouring wine) at Yale. Consistent individual characteristics of style suggest the existence of a unique artistic personality. He was an early classical painter; many vases have been attributed to his hand on the basis of style. The majority of the vases were found in Italy, chiefly in the Etruscan necropolises where they had been imported from Corinth and Athens. Sinopoli bought them from other private collectors or in the legal antiquarian market.

(left) Exhibit 64: black-figure kylix depicting three dancers (the first one playing a cithara), two water birds and a lotus bud by the Allard Pierson (a Dutch art historian) Painter Workshop 540 BC; (right) Exhibit 88: red-figure amphora depicting Odysseus escaping from Polyphemus' cave (school of the Gottingen painter 480 BC - see a statue depicting the same event)

A kylix was a wine-drinking cup which was often decorated with erotic or wine-related subjects; the three dancers performed a komos or "dance of frenzied drunkards" which was often the great finale of a banquet, a spontaneous, freestyle dance with loose body shaking in a group of fellow-drinkers with shouts of praise to Dionysus, the god of wine. The Allard Pierson Painter was active in Laconia, the region of Ancient Sparta.
Sinopoli did not have academic objectives in gathering the items of his collections. He chose them because of the feelings or ideas or reminiscences which he experienced when he saw them.

(left) Exhibit 70: black-figure vase depicting the departure of a warrior holding a horse by the bridle between two figures by the Lysippides painter (530-520 BC); (right) Exhibit 159: red-figure Attic vase depicting a king and a queen offering wine to two heroes departing for war with petasus (a broad brimmed hat worn by ancient Greeks, Thracians and Etruscans, primarily by farmers, travellers and hunters), chlamys (a cloak, often the sole item of clothing for young soldiers and messengers) and spear by the Syriskos painter (470-460 BC)

The Lysippides painter is considered the most significant pupil of Exekias, from whom he adopted not only his artistic style but also some important motifs, such as Ajax and Achilles playing a board game. Most of his works were shipped to Italy, especially to Etruria.
Syriskos means "little Syrian" but he worked in Athens chiefly in red-figure vessels. A very large number of vases have been attributed to his hand on the basis of style.

Exhibit 160: Apulian vase (320-310 BC): (left) the whole vase with handle medallions depicting female heads with horns, swans at the junction and a woman's head with "kekryphalos"; (right) other side of the vase depicting a naked young man sitting inside a "naiskos" between two standing figures

The kekryphalos, in its narrower sense, was a caul or coif of net-work, corresponding to the Latin reticulum (net). It was worn during the day as well as the night, and it is mentioned by Homer.
The naiskos is a small temple in classical order with columns or pillars and pediment. It is often applied as a decoration in grave reliefs and in the pottery of ancient Greece and the wares of Apulia in Southern Italy, especially those of Tarentum (Taranto). The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which was partially fought in Sicily, resulted in a decline of Athenian vase exports which favoured the development of workshops in Southern and Central Italy.

Apulian vases: (left) Exhibit 99 depicting heads of Pan and of a satyr on the handle medallions, swans at the junction, the head of a winged woman and a woman inside a "naiskos" by the Baltimora painter (330-320 BC); (right) Exhibit 100 depicting a winged woman inside a "naiskos" between two standing figures by the Apulian Samarcanda workshop (320-310 BC)

You may wish to see other Greek/Italian ancient vases in the museums of Orvieto, Cerveteri, Chiusi, Civita Castellana, Albano, Rieti, Florence and Capua and in Rome at Museo Gregoriano Etrusco and at Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia.