On the occasion of the 2026 Mediterranean Games, theMArTA National Archaeological Museum in Taranto is dedicating a new in-depth study to the figure of theAthlete of Via Genova, considered the oldest known athlete in Magna-Greek history. The reference is to the December 9, 1959 discovery, when, during urban works, a monumental tomb emerged that returned an extraordinary trousseau and one of the most important testimonies of ancient athleticism in southern Italy. Almost sixty-six years after the discovery, MArTA is proposing an initiative that rereads the profile of the athlete through the language of contemporary comics. The protagonist of the operation is Sal Velluto, an artist originally from Taranto and a cartoonist who has been active for decades in U.S. publishing, particularly for Marvel and DC Comics. In 2024 Velluto created an illustration portraying the athlete who lived around 480 B.C. and won at the Great Panathenae, the games celebrated in Athens in honor of the goddess Athena. The scene chosen by the author is that of the victory, referred to as The Victory: a moment that blends jubilation and iconographic symbols closely related to the archaeological find.
Indeed, direct references to the Panathenaic amphorae found on the sides of the burial appear in the composition. These include the figure of Athena Parthénos, Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and Doric columns topped by roosters, decorative elements characteristic of the finds associated with the Tarentine athlete. Velvet’s illustration combines such references with a narrative stroke that recovers the competitive sense of Greek competitions, placing the figure of the athlete in a visual dimension that is also accessible to a non-specialist audience. The official presentation of the work is set for Saturday, December 6, at 10 a.m. in the Meeting Room of the National Archaeological Museum in Taranto. The meeting, open to the press, will be attended by MArTA director Stella Falzone and the artist. During the conference, Velvet will formally hand over his production to the director and, symbolically, to the city, giving the museum the rights to reproduce the illustration. The gesture will allow MArTA to use the image within its dissemination and institutional activities. The initiative, placed within the framework of celebrations and cultural activities related to the enhancement of the territory’s archaeological heritage, thus aims to offer a contemporary reading of a central figure of ancient Taranto.
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| Taranto, at MArTa, Sal Velluto's illustration dedicated to the Magna-Greek Athlete of Via Genova |
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