A large pane of glass for the Palatine Museum

As part of the rich program of initiatives realized by the Special Office of Archeological Heritage for Rome to mark the anniversary of the death of Augustus 2,000 years ago, one project that stands out is the new exhibition at the Palatine Museum. It was designed and overseen by architect Andrea Mandara and inaugurated this past Sept. 18.

The museum was created in the second half of the 19th Century in a building that had been part of a convent for the nuns of the Order of the Visitation. The new exhibition highlights the relationship with the monumental external complex and serves as the focal point of a visit that takes place over the entire hill, going back to archeological artifacts from the protohistoric period to late antiquity.

The museum space has been expanded and the display of extraordinary artifacts from Augustus’s era have been further enriched with works that had been in storage or that have come from new digs in the Imperial Palaces.

For the new Palatine Museum, Goppion realized the spectacular case on the first floor, which dominates the room dedicated to Augustus. The showcase features various decorated terracotta slabs from the Sanctuary of Apollo, which Augustus had built with his own money as an ex-voto for the victory over Sextus Pompeius at Naulochus (36 BC). The temple was attached to his house. The multi-colored slabs, which were meant to decorate the inside of the temple, are Campana style and feature mythological scenes in relief having to do with the god Augustus had chosen as his protector.

Goppion’s project includes a large glass protection (6,540 mm x 3,950 mm; anti-vandalism glass 6+6 in thickness with a layer of PVB plastic added to increase the level of security) with a pivot opening. Air-tightness is guaranteed by the use of lip seals (similar to those used in the cases of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam).

Lighting – with two rows of LED lights – comes from the top.