Vittoriano
"Rome in coin is an exhibition project of extraordinary cultural significance that restores over two thousand years of history of the Eternal City to the public through one of the most effective tools for representing memory and collective identity. Each specimen tells the story of a season of our civilization, bearing witness to the continuous dialogue between art, politics, and society. The initiative confirms the Ministry of Culture's mission aimed at promoting an integrated enhancement of heritage, capable of networking museums, cultural sites, and the scientific community. Rome thus emerges as a living laboratory of knowledge, innovation, and cultural participation," stated the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli.
This major exhibition project, which marks the very first collaboration among three major state museums to create a joint exhibition, retraces over two thousand years of Rome's history through coinage - one of the most powerful tools for political, economic, ideological, and cultural representation developed by the West.
As a means of exchange, an emblem of power, a vehicle for propaganda, an artistic object, and a medium of memory, the coin has for centuries accompanied the construction of Rome's identity and its image in the world. For this reason, the coins minted in the city offer a privileged vantage point on its political, religious, artistic, and social transformations. Through images, inscriptions, and symbols, each specimen retains the power to evoke an entire era.
"This complex and articulated exhibition project starts from the Medagliere housed at Palazzo Massimo and from Terme di Diocleziano's site, where the period between the construction of the republican identity and imperial self-representation is explored in depth; through the dialogue between coins and archaeological evidence, over a millennium of Rome's history is brought back to life" states Federica Rinaldi, Director of Museo Nazionale Romano.
The itinerary is organized into three chronological sections: the ancient era at Terme di Diocleziano of Museo Nazionale Romano, the Middle Ages at Tempio di Romolo of Parco Archeologico del Colosseo and the modern and contemporary era at Vittoriano of VIVE - Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia.
"The Tempio di Romolo in the Foro Romano hosts a very unique part of the exhibition, investigating the medieval legacy of Roman coinage, which evolved from the solidus, denarius, and aes into the most diverse forms, while long retaining, at least throughout the Early Middle Ages, its original imperial denomination. This is a phenomenon of long-lasting lexical endurance that has its very origins right here, if we consider that the Rome mint was located just a few steps from the temple of Juno Moneta on the Capitoline Hill" says Simone Quilici, Director of Parco archeologico del Colosseo.
The itinerary is divided into twenty-five subsections - eight at Museo Nazionale Romano, eight at Parco archeologico del Colosseo, and nine at VIVE - each dedicated to a crucial episode in Rome's history and its corresponding cultural climate, including the election of Julius Caesar as dictator, the return of Pope Martin V from the Avignon papacy, and the breach of Porta Pia. Each subsection opens with a coin and links works of art, in-depth texts, and innovative digital tools, designed as visitor aids and interpretive guides.
The three sections of the exhibition can be visited either independently or as part of a unified itinerary, thanks to an integrated ticket valid for the entire duration of the initiative.
“With Rome in coin, we intend to experiment with a new model of heritage access. The integrated ticket among three State museums is conceived as an enhancement tool: it allows visitors to cross three collections and three phases of Rome's history as parts of a coordinated cultural experience. It is a formula that could pave the way for further shared projects among state institutions, reinforcing the Department's role as a space for coordination, planning, and innovation at the service of the public" says Alfonsina Russo, Head of the Department for the valorization of cultural heritage.
The exhibition is curated by Alfonsina Russo, Edith Gabrielli, Simone Quilici and Federica Rinaldi.
Works on display
The exhibition features over 160 works, from antiquity to the contemporary era: the ancient coins come from the Medagliere of Museo Nazionale Romano, which has recently reopened to the public and is currently undergoing a major digitization project funded by PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) funds; the contemporary coins come from the Museo della Zecca. The works of art have been loaned by major Italian state museums, Soprintendenza Capitolina, Musei Vaticani, numerous civic museums, archives, foundations, galleries, and private collectors.
Among the most significant works on display are, at Museo Nazionale Romano, the Honorary Missorium of Ardabur Aspar (Florence, Museo Archeologico Nazionale), the Portrait of Julius Caesar (Musei Vaticani), and the Portrait of Constantine (Rome, Sovrintendenza Capitolina); at Parco archeologico del Colosseo, the frescoes from Santa Maria in Via Lata depicting The Seven Sleepers (Rome, Crypta Balbi), the Madonna by Pietro di Belizo and Belluomo (Parma, Fondazione Magnani-Rocca), and the monumental Boniface VIII by Maestro Bandini from Siena (Bologna, Museo Civico Medievale), one of the most imposing sculptures of the Italian Middle Ages; at VIVE – Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia, the Della Rovere Missal decorated by Jacopo Rivaldi, a masterpiece of fifteenth-century illumination (Turin, Archivio di Stato), the Portrait of Pope Alexander VII Chigi by Gianlorenzo Bernini (Rome, Gallerie Nazionali d’Arte Antica), and Untitled by Maurizio Cattelan, which closes the narrative on the European present.
"Untitled by Maurizio Cattelan is the spectacular conclusion to the exhibition in the Vittoriano section. Of course, that is not all; in fact, the other periods, from the Renaissance to the Baroque, all the way to the twentieth century, enjoy equal space and importance. On the other hand, the presence of Cattelan and other great contemporary artists closes the circle between yesterday and today, presenting the image of a city that is still capable of imagining the future," observes Edith Gabrielli, Director of VIVE - Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia.
