The Goddess Rome

On the occasion of the reopening of the multifunctional space Sala Santa Rita and the 2777th Rome's Birthday which has just passed, an exhibition opens to the public which, after many years, displays a plaster bust of the Goddess Rome by Pietro Tenerani.

The work, which was exhibited for the first time on 21 April 1851 - the day of the foundation of Rome - is an example of the style of the sculptor Pietro Tenerani and falls within the artistic canons of Purism of which the artist was an exponent.

The goddess is depicted according to the classical canons of the Roman world and wears a Corinthian helmet surmounted by a high crest, from which wavy hair emerges; the military cloak she wears is secured to her left shoulder with a circular buckle as is usually seen in the portrait busts of Roman emperors, while the baldric, the leather belt that held the sword on the side of the Roman soldiers, crosses her torso in diagonal.

On the base of the sculpture there is the inscription ROMAE AETERNAE which was present as a legend on various coins of Roman imperial age precisely in association with the Goddess Roma depicted sitting on an armed throne and holding winged Victory in one hand. A lighting system designed specifically for the exhibition enhances the beauty of the sculpture and the purity of the features of the goddess's face.

Pietro Tenerani, born in Carrara and lived between 1789 and 1869, was one of the most important Italian sculptors of the mid-nineteenth century. Having moved to Rome in 1814, he collaborated with Bertel Thorvaldsen for a long time. One of the most popular portrait painters of his time, he was president of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, director of the Capitoline Museums and the Vatican Museums. Among his most important works we remember the Monument to Pius VIII, in St. Peter's Basilica and the versions of the Monument to Simon Bolivar, in Bogotà and Caracas. His collection of plaster casts, ceded by his heirs in 1940 to the Governorate of Rome, became part of the civic collections after the war and has been preserved in the collections of the Museum of Rome since 1994.

The exhibition is curated by the Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.

Photo credits: official poster of the exhibition