New Archaeological Gallery Opens at Musei Reali di Torino

The Musei Reali di Torino has inaugurated a new Archaeological Gallery, a major permanent exhibition spanning ten rooms and five sections with over a thousand artifacts, some never before displayed. Designed by GTRF – Tortelli Frassoni Architetti Associati as part of the museum's Strategic Plan, the gallery reorganizes visitor routes and improves connections between museum units, particularly within the Museo di Antichità. The collection includes Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Phoenician pieces, accumulated over 400 years by the House of Savoy and various scholars and explorers. Highlights include a never-before-exhibited 19th-century cast of the Roman Fasti Praenestini calendar, a portrait bust of Julius Caesar considered one of the most faithful, an Assyrian relief of King Sargon II, an Etruscan sarcophagus from 280–270 BCE, a mosaic of Orpheus taming beasts, a 'cabalistic' bust of Isis, and a trilingual inscription in Punic, Greek, and Latin from Roman Sardinia. The gallery also features accessible content with tactile materials, audio descriptions via QR codes, and a 'Galleria Junior' with games for children. A series of video interviews titled 'Galleria Live' includes collectors Corrado Lopresto, sculptor Fabio Viale, and Olympic wrestler Daigoro Timoncini. Director Enrica Pagella stated the new installation 'brings to light works of inestimable beauty and historical value' and represents the beginning of a unified narrative for the Musei Reali.