On the 12th of July at 5 p.m. in the Curia Iulia in the Roman Forum, the Directorate-General of Museums, the Parco archeologico del Colosseo and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of New York, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Riace Bronzes.

For the occasion, a scientific meeting will be held, introduced by Prof. Massimo Osanna, Director-General of Museums, followed by interventions by Dr. Carmelo Malacrino, Director of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, and authoritative scholars of ancient sculpture, such as Prof. Salvatore Settis, former Director of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and member of the Accademia dei Lincei, and Prof. Vinzenz Brinkmann (Head of the Department of Antiquities) and Dr. Ulrike Koch from the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt am Main.

On the occasion of this important anniversary, the perfect bronze copy of the head of the statue of warrior A, one of the two famous Riace Bronzes, extraordinary works of art from the 5th century BC preserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, will be on display.

The bronze head was made by the German archaeologist Prof. Vinzenz Brinkmann, one of the world’s leading experts on polychromy in antiquity. The reproduction of the head, realised with the aid of new and sophisticated technologies (laser scanner with millimetric scanning and 3D relief) aims to show the public the original color of the statue, i.e., deprived of the effects of time and oxidation.

During the Roman event on the 12th of July, there will also be a screening of the video that the Metropolitan Museum of New York has produced, especially for this occasion, on the exhibition Chroma Ancient Sculpture in Colour, which opened in the American museum on the 5th of July and is dedicated to the polychromy of ancient sculptures. In the New York exhibition, a special highlight are two perfect bronze copies of the Riace statues, created using the same sophisticated technologies.

The bronze reproduction of the head and the video of the exhibition will be on view at the Curia Iulia until the 18th of July.

The event can be attended in person with reservations at eventbrite.it starting at 6 p.m. on the 8th of July and will be streamed live online on the YouTube channel of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo: www.youtube.com/parcocolosseo

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PROGRAM

Rome, Curia Iulia in the Roman Forum, 12th July 2022 – 5 p.m. CEST

​Greetings: Alfonsina Russo, Director of Parco archeologico del Colosseo

Introduction to the conference: ​Massimo Osanna, Director-General of Museums

Keynote speakers:

Carmelo Malacrino, Director of Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria

Vinzenz Brinkmann (Head of the Department of Antiquities) and Ulrike Koch from the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt am Main

At the end of the speeches, there will be a screening of the video by MET “Chroma Ancient Sculpture in Color”.

Closing Remarks: Salvatore Settis, former Director of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, member of the Accademia dei Lincei