At Sperlonga Archaeological Museum an exhibition on Ulysses and his travels through finds from the deposits

From May 18 to July 30, 2023, the Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga (Latina) presents the exhibition Deposits (re)discovered... in Sperlonga - Ulysses and his travels. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the National Roman Museum and the Lazio Regional Museums Directorate, in order to give new voice to the many artifacts usually kept in deposits through a series of short exhibitions. After a first stop at the Museo delle Navi Romane in Nemi (Rm) with Depositi (re)scoperti... a Nemi, the project arrives at the National Archaeological Museum in Sperlonga with the exhibition Ulisse e i suoi viaggi. The exhibition also comes as part of the exhibition L’istante e l’eternità - Tra noi e gli antichi, held in the National Roman Museum at the Baths of Diocletian, and which has seen an important contribution from the National Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga with the loan of some of its most significant sculptures, such as the head of Ulysses and the Palladium group.

Ulysses and His Travels is dedicated precisely to the figure of Ulysses, the hero’s journey and the journeys of the sculptures that represent him: works from the deposits of the National Roman Museum complement the works of the National Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga, creating a dialogue between institutions. It was precisely to the National Roman Museum, which had the task of housing the main finds of Rome and Latium, that the sculptures from Sperlonga were initially destined; instead, the National Archaeological Museum was created in 1963 to house them in the place where they were discovered.

Established in 1889 to be an important center of culture in united Italy, the National Roman Museum consists of the Baths of Diocletian, Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, and the Crypta Balbi. However, the Museum’s narrative is not exhausted in the four locations: a true “museum within a museum” is enclosed in the more than thirty rooms that now constitute the historical deposits and hold a very rich heritage, in terms of quantity and historical-artistic quality. Through Depositi (re)discoveries, therefore, sculptures, mosaics, frescoes, terracotta, marble and bronze artifacts, found from the institution of Roma Capitale to the present day, return visible to the public.

On the institutional website of the National Archaeological Museum of Sperlonga will be available texts in facilitated language created by the Educational Service of the National Roman Museum, dedicated to people with cognitive disabilities and their caregivers, to allow the preparation of the visit and facilitate the understanding of the exhibition route to this audience with special needs.

The exhibition route begins with the large mosaic of Ulysses and the Sirens (from Quarto di Corzano, in the province of Rieti, 2nd century AD), which will be presented in an evocative multimedia display that immerses visitors in the story of Ulysses’ journey.

The figure of Ulysses is embodied in the portrait from the National Roman Museum, his charm highlighted by the many female figures: his beloved wife Penelope, the charming Circe, the Sirens, Scylla and Athena, his divine protector. His cunning comes to life in the grandiose group of Polyphemus’ blinding. Intelligent, resourceful, tenacious and thirsty for knowledge and adventure, Ulysses is represented in his features by the head of Ulysses in Greek marble (from the burial ground of the Statili, early imperial age): a mature man with flowing hair and a thick beard, recognizable by his characteristic headdress, the pileus, his common attribute. Contributing to the prominence of Odysseus’ virtues are the many female figures who animate the myth traditionally recognized in some of the portraits: his beloved wife Penelope (a marble head from the second century CE is on display); the fascinating Circe, with her magical sorceries (a Greek marble portrait of her found in 1928 on the Circeo promontory is on display); and his divine protector Athena, represented by a bust found in the suburbs of Rome.

Also on display to recount the adventures of Odysseus, and the other characters revolving around his figure, are a sarcophagus with a depiction of Achilles among the daughters of Nicomedes (from Isola Sacra, second half of the second century CE) and an urn with a scene of Achilles’ contention for arms (from Ostia Antica, second half of the second century CE).

At Sperlonga Archaeological Museum an exhibition on Ulysses and his travels through finds from the deposits

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