The Museum of Rome at Palazzo Braschi presents to the public an important update of its exhibition itinerary, with the refurbishment of the Sala delle Muse and the Sala delle Pittrici. The two rooms, which will be inaugurated on Friday, December 5, at 5 p.m., house works that have remained in museum storage for decades and are now brought back to public view as part of a project that aims to consolidate and expand the enjoyment of the permanent collection. The inaugural event includes an introductory meeting and a concert by Duo Immaginaire, formed by Francesca Lisanti and Elisa Bellisario. The musical program, designed for harp and clarinet, was conceived in relation to the themes related to harmony, creativity and feminine sensibility that characterize the renovated Hall of Women Painters. The decision to pair a musical moment with the opening of the new rooms is part of the desire to offer the public an experience that combines historical content, restitution of the works and cultural insights.
The Hall of the Muses now brings together the Renaissance cycle depicting Apollo and the Muses, from the villa of Leo X at Magliana, now home to the Hospital of the Knights of Malta. The pictorial complex, attributed to Gerino da Pistoia and dated around 1513, is an important testimony to Roman figurative culture in the first half of the 16th century. Rediscovered in the 19th century, the frescoes were detached from the wall support for conservation reasons and later became part of the Capitoline collections, eventually flowing into the Museum of Rome. After a phase of public display, they were transferred to storage, where they remained for many years.
Their return to the room allows for the relocation of an important nucleus in the museum’s narrative, enabling scholars and the public to reacquaint themselves with a complex work linked to the decorative programs of early 16th-century papal residences. On the third floor of the museum, the Painters’ Room has been completely redesigned to highlight the work of women artists active in Rome between the 17th and 19th centuries, in continuity with the research initiated by the exhibition Roma Pittrice. The layout features works that offer a broader reading of the female presence in the city’s artistic production, helping to restore a voice to figures that art history has often relegated to the sidelines, despite a documented and, in many cases, recognized activity as early as the modern era.
The room is enhanced by two works on loan from the collection of art historian Alessandra Masu. They are Aurora by Artemisia Gentileschi, the only evidence of the artist in the Capitoline collections, and a Capriccio by the Genoese painter Maria Luisa Raggi. The temporary admission of these paintings underscores the desire to enhance the room’s role as a place dedicated to the research and rediscovery of women’s work in the history of Roman art. The return of long-neglected works to the exhibition is a central element of this goal, reaffirming the museum’s role as a space dedicated to the preservation, research and organic presentation of the city’s artistic heritage. Monica Lucarelli, councillor for Productive Activities and Equal Opportunities, Ilaria Miarelli Mariani, director of the Civic Museums Department, and Alessandra Masu, president of the cultural association “Artemisia Gentileschi,” will speak during the opening. A concert by Duo Immaginaire will follow. Admission is free until all available seats are filled.
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| Rome, new displays at Palazzo Braschi: Roman Muses and female painters return to view |
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