Polmone Pulsante - Museo Saverio Ungheri

For several years the space was the workshop of artist Saverio Ungheri, creator of "bionic sculptures", who died a few years ago.

Now the gallery-museum is run by his son Andrea Ungheri, who not only exhibits his father's works but also organises exhibitions and cultural events. The museum's special features are the underground rooms that house the moving bionic sculptures and the workbench that has remained unchanged since the artist's last print.

Historical notes

The place historically known as Polmone Pulsante is a cultural salon founded in 1976 by Saverio Ungheri with his wife Teresa Nasso. The centre is still active without betraying the approach of the time. Over the years, great personalities have animated it, such as Carlo Lizzani, Liliana De Curtis (Totò's daughter), Dacia Maraini, Emma Bonino and many others. Il Polmone Pulsante has the patronage of Roma Capitale Municipio I and collaborations with St John's University in New York, with the Art Pur Art Gallery in Mons (Belgium) and with various publishing houses and associations. Many curators and artists have animated the art-themed evenings. The venue is in the ancient Suburra district, in front of the Mercati Traianei, and its underground areas include a route through vaulted rooms, blind staircases and Roman arches, leading to the "Sala del Pozzo", which was in ancient times the "Chiesa di San Salvatore delle Milizie". These rooms have been recovered by Saverio Ungheri with an archaeological restoration that, after centuries of neglect, projects them into a new communicative reality characterised by the presence of kinetic sculptures in metal and plastic in a highly original association between archived cultures and present-day cultures in a continuous research phase.

From 23 February 2019 you can also see the frescoed space "Energy, time and consciousness" by Federico Kampf