Impressioni dal vero. La via Appia e la via Latina nei disegni di Maria Barosso (Impressions from Life. The via Appia and the via Latina in the Drawings of Maria Barosso)

The Capo Bove Complex, along the Appian Way, from November 15, 2025, to April 12, 2026, hosts the exhibition Impressioni dal vero. La via Appia e la via Latina nei disegni di Maria Barosso (Impressions from Life. The via Appia and the via Latina in the Drawings of Maria Barosso). Curated by Santino Alessandro Cugno, Matteo Mazzalupi, Mara Pontisso, and Ilaria Sgarbozza, the exhibition explores the history of two sites along the via Appia and the via Latina through the works of Maria Barosso (1879-1960), the first female archaeological draftsman at the Directorate of Antiquities and Fine Arts, which document the excavation work and the major urban transformations that affected Rome in the first half of the twentieth century.

It is a selection of drawings, watercolors, reliefs, and archival documents from the Special Superintendency of Rome and other important Italian and international institutions sheding light on the work conducted by Maria Barosso between the 1930s and 1940s, on the construction sites of the Church of San Cesareo de Appia and the Early Christian Basilica of Santo Stefano on the via Latina, on behalf of the then Superintendency of Monumental Heritage of Rome and Lazio. These two sites of great historical and artistic interest, currently undergoing restoration and enhancement work funded by PNRR funds, aiming to expand their use, once again play a leading role in the history of the Appian Way, through a perspective that combined scientific rigor and pictorial sensitivity.

The title, Impressions from Life, draws on a phrase Maria Barosso used in her drawings to indicate a way of working "from life", en plein air, which brings the precision of relief closer to the emotional dimension of painting. Her panels, often depicting workers at work, thus also become a narrative of the craft of excavation and the patient reconstruction of the past.

The exhibition is enriched by materials on loan from private collectors and prestigious institutions, including the Bibliotheca Hertziana, the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, the British School at Rome, the American Academy in Rome, and the Museo di Roma.