Palazzo Massimo

Palazzo Massimo was built  in the late nineteenth century to be a Jesuit boarding school. Today it is the main of the four seats of the National Roman Museum. Exhibits are distributed on the four floors of the palace. The underground floor contains the Numismatic Section which holds fascinating examples of coinage and monetary systems from their origins in the eighth century B.C. to the introduction of the Euro, a number of which come from the Savoia collection. Included here is the Ancient Jewerly section with several gems and funerary jewels, as well as the mummified 'Girl from  Grottarossa', a child found together with her doll. On the other three floors are various works of art representing a broad range of classical sculpture. These include a statue of Augustus, various Roman copies of Greek statues such as  the famous 'Discobolo Lancellotti', a sleeping Hermaphrodite, Venus about to bathe, and an Apollo which was copied from a fifth century B.C. Greek original in the workshop of Phidias. There is also a section of rare bronzes. The final floor is dedicated to a wonderful collection of frescoes and mosaics, among them those of the triclinium of the villa of Livia and those of the Farnesina villa. These exhibits, that come from various locations around the city of Rome, represent the themes and styles that existed from the first century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. Among the most interesting of these is a marble inlaid work representing the God of the  Sun.