Contemporary Art Interventions Inside Rome's Pyramid of Cestius

For the first time, the Pyramid of Cestius in Rome opens to contemporary art, hosting site-specific interventions by three artists inside its funerary chamber from September 20 to 22, 2024. The project, promoted by Sala 1 in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma, marks a decade since the restoration sponsored by Yuzo Yagi. Outside, Japanese artist Uemon Ikeda (b. 1952) creates a suspended web of red threads in the garden, metaphorically evoking the Acheron river to prepare visitors for entry. Inside, Fabrizio Crisafulli (b. 1948, Catania) presents "Tramite," a light installation that integrates with the funerary chamber's Pompeian-style decorations and historical fractures without altering them, generating a renewed contemplative vision. Melissa Lohman (b. 1976, New York) performs within the same space, using her body as a "Tramite" between earthly and surreal dimensions, inviting viewers to see her as part of the environment. The artists act as contemporary Virgils, guiding the public through areas usually closed to visitors. Crisafulli describes his approach as "theatre of places," stitching fragments of the chamber into a new image that transforms mediated perception of the past into vision. The project aims to enhance the experience of the esoteric and mysterious site through art.