VIVE

Rome in coin. Art and power in the history of the Eternal City

edited by
Alfonsina Russo, Edith Gabrielli, Simone Quilici e Federica Rinaldi

from July 2 to Semptember 27, 2026
Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano
Parco Archeologico del Colosseo, Tempio di Romolo
VIVE – Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia, Vittoriano

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Rome in coin. Art and power in the history of the Eternal City

The Ministry of Culture presents “Rome in Coin. Art and power in the history of the Eternal City”, a major widespread exhibition that 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.

The exhibition — curated by the Department for the valorization of cultural heritage, VIVE - Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia, Parco archeologico del Colosseo and Museo Nazionale Romano — uses coins as interpretive keys to reconstruct crucial moments in Rome's history and culture, placing them in dialogue with works of ancient art, paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, jewelry, contemporary installations and artifacts of material culture.

The itinerary is organized into three chronological sections: the ancient era at Museo Nazionale Romano, the Middle Ages at Parco archeologico del Colosseo and the modern and contemporary era at VIVE. These are further 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.

With this exhibition, the Department and its museums confirm their role as a permanent laboratory for cultural planning, capable of networking Italian cultural sites and strengthening their connection with the world of research and academia.

The exhibition is supported by the scientific coordination of Fabrizio Oppedisano (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa) and Massimiliano Papini (‘Sapienza’ University of Rome) for Museo Nazionale Romano section; Sandro Carocci (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”), Serena Romano (University of Lausanne), and Dario Internullo (Roma Tre University) for Parco archeologico del Colosseo section; and Francesco Benigno (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), Edith Gabrielli, and Matteo Sanfilippo (University of Tuscia) for VIVE - Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia section.

In addition to the coordinators, the scientific committee includes Barbara Agosti, Marta Barbato, Federico Barello, Lorenzo Canova, Raffaella Morselli, Massimo Osanna, Emanuele Pellegrini, Roberto Pinto, Pier Paolo Racioppi, Alessia Rovelli, Lucia Travaini, and Claudio Zambianchi.

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