In 2019 a very special event took place: an exhibition called “Domus Grimani”. At this date, part of the Grimany collection joined for a short period the palace of its former owner – the recently restored Palazzio Grimani. For the first time in 400 years the ancient marbles could be seen again in their original setting, and they were exhibited according to the tastes of the time.

I visited this beautiful and unique exhibition – unfortunately finished for a while – and I have the pleasure to share below some photos and memories from my visit.  But first, I would like to say a few words about the family of Grimani, their palace and their Collection, which gave birth to the first public museum in Venice.

Palazzo Grimani – Entrance to the Museum. Photo by Timetravelrome.

The Palace of Grimani

The Grimani Palace in Santa Maria Formosa was built in the Middle Ages at the confluence of the canals of San Severo and Santa Maria Formosa. The palace, originally constructed on a Venetian-Byzantine plan, was modified and enhanced during the fifteenth century, becoming residence of the doge Antonio Grimani – a skilled spice merchant and first doge of the family. Antonio donated the palace to his sons (Domenico, Girolano, Pietro, Vincenzo and Marino), but the palace decorations were achieved by song of his son Girolano, his nephews Giovanni (1506-1593), Patriarch of Aquileia, and his brother Vettore. Until 1865, the palace remained the property of the Grimani family. By our time, and after several changes of owners, the palace was in an advanced state of disrepair – in 1981 it was acquired by the city of Venice. After a long restoration, it opened to the public in 2008.

Photo of the Grimani Palace before restoration. Source: “The restoration of Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa in Venice”, Loggia N27, 2014.

The centerpiece of the Grimani palace is the Tribuna – a room that once housed dozens of statues and busts, the most beautiful of the Grimani collection. The room is unique in Venice, as it was inspired by the ancient Roman domus mixing roman style with the cultural climate of the Renaissance. Embellished with ancient and precious marbles such as yellow alabaster, green serpentine and red porphyry – from the eastern Mediterranean where the doge Antonio Grimani made his fortune as a spice merchant and military – the space was conceived as a spectacular reception hall, where part of the family collection was exhibited.

Tribuna East – view during the “Domus Grimani” Exhibition. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Grimani Family and their Collection   

The story of the Grimani collection began with the death of Domenico Grimani (1461 – 1523) – the Venetian Cardinal and son of the doge Antonio. Domenico has accumulated valuable antiquities during his life in Rome – his workers found many ancient statues while building his villa and working in his vineyards located on the Quirinal – there were vineyards in Rome at this time as the city had lost many inhabitants in the Middle Ages. Stricken by an illness in the Roman summer of 1523, Domenico Grimani composed his last will: at his death, a collection of Flemish paintings and some 20 classical sculptures in storage in Venice were to become property of the state.

Cardinal Domenico Grimani – After Lorenzo Lotto – UK Royal Collection. Public domain.

These paintings and antiquities had to be arranged in a room in the donor’s honor. This first collection remained in the Palazzo Ducale until 1586, when antiquities were entrusted to Giovanni Grimani, the Patriarch of Aquileia, pending the completion of the new public museum. A few months later, following the example of his illustrious uncle, Giovanni has decided to donate his own collection of 150 antiquities to the state. So, the collection was first started by Domenico Grimani and was subsequently extended by one of his four nephews – Giovanni.

Portrait of Giovanni Grimani – workshop of Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto,  Public Domain.

Giovanni Grimani was the youngest among four brothers and he lived the longest live – he has inherited or purchased the assets of his brothers, including the collection of his brother Cardinal Marino. By 1586, when Giovanni Grimani took over the collection of his uncle Domenico, the octogenarian Patriarch of Aquileia was the most knowledgeable collector and connoisseur of antiquities in Venice. Disappointed in middle life in a bid to follow his uncle and brothers Marino and Marco to a cardinal’s honours in Rome, he had contented himself with the patriarchate and retiring to the family palace at Santa Maria Formosa – transforming it into a vast and famous museum of art.

Family tree of the Grimani. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Giovanni Grimani had no direct heirs and he was concerned that his collection would be dispersed after his death. So, in February 1587, he announced that he wished to offer his collection of antique sculpture to the Republic, provided it could be displayed in a “permanent setting”. Giovanni died in October 1593 but the chosen “permanent setting” for his collection at the Biblioteca Marciana was still no ready. The death of Giovanni forced the Signoria of Venice to accelerate the works on the “Statuario Publico” – they were overseen by the Procuratore di San Marco, Federico Contarini, who added to the Grimani collection some 17 sculptures he owned himself. At last, in the summer of 1596 the Statuario Publico at the Biblioteca Marciana was completed. This collection comprising antiquities from collections of Domenico Grimani, Giovanni Grimani and Federico Contarini became the nucleus of the National Archaeological Museum of Venice, where it is still on display until now.

Anton Maria Zanetti il Giovane, Statuario Pubblico della Serenissima, parete d’ingresso, Venezia, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. Source: “Immagine originaria e stratificazione di identità mutate“.

Many pieces of the initial collection – busts of Apollo and Caracalla, head of Aphrodite and Dionysus – have been exhibited at the Biblioteca Marciana for 400 years, until the library’s had to undergo a restoration: in 2019 they were moved to the Palazzo Grimani for a temporary exhibition – the “Domus Grimani”.

‘Domus Grimani’ exhibition

The Tribuna, an actual “chamber of antiquities”, is the inner sanctum where Giovanni Grimani received his most illustrious guests. Illuminated from above and inspired by the Pantheon, it constitutes the pivot and the final destination of the itinerary along the rooms that precede it. It was originally accessible through a single doorway, but some small modifications have been made over the centuries—such as the installation of a large window and a second doorway leading to the Neoclassical room, which was used as a bedroom in the late eighteenth century. Visitors to the Domus Grimani exhibition have seen the Tribuna as it was in Giovanni’s day, thanks to the installation of two temporary architectural niches.

Verso of a drawing by Federico Zuccaro, circa 1582: study after part of the Tribuna of the Palazzo Grimani adorned with antique sculpture. Source: British Museum.

Tribuna South – during the “Domus Grimani” Exhibition. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Tribuna South and West – during the “Domus Grimani” Exhibition. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Exhibition highlights

At the center of the Tribuna one could see the “Rapt of Ganymede”, a roman copy made after a Greek Hellenistic original. In mythology, Zeus wanted to kidnap Ganymede and take him to Mount Olympus, where he would be the ‘cup holder to the gods’. Zeus disguised himself as an eagle, sweeping down from the heavens to carry Ganymede away. According to a legend, this sculpture would be a gift from Suleiman the Magnificent…

Rapt of Ganymede under the ceiling of the Tribuna. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Rapt of Ganymede – close up. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Another highlight of the Exhibiton was Aphrodite, AD 150-200: the sculpture was strongly restored in the Renaissance by Tiziano Aspetti. A hand of Aphrodite was added, as well as its head and the cupid besides…

Statue of Aphrodite or Capitoline Venus AD 2nd c. Head and bust restored by Tiziano Aspetti. Photo by Timetravelrome.

The next bust is probably the most enigmatic one: According to some attributions, it is a portrait of Antinous as a priest of Isis from Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli. As other busts of Isis priests, there is a cross-shaped mark on the skull of this portrait, but it is hard to say – despite some resemblance –  whether the artist has indeed represented Antinous.

Antinous (?) as a priest of Isis. Photo by Timetravelrome.

My personal favorites of the exhibition include some anonymous portraits, such as this male bust dated to the 3rd century AD and a woman marble portrait, dated to the first half of the 3rd century AD.

Portrait of a man 3rd century AD with a Renaissance bust from Luni marble. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Portrait of a woman 205 – 235 AD bust and neck added during Renaissance. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Imperial portraits were represented by a portrait of Caracalla, a 16-century portrait of Hadrian, a marble bust of Aelius (?) and this well preserved bust of Commodus.

Bust of Commodus as a youth 175-177 AD. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Two masks of Pan were part of the Tribuna decorations.

Mask of Pan – middle of the 2nd c AD. Photo by Timetravelrome.

But the main focus attention at the Exhibition was obviously the Tribuna itself: restored to its original beauty, the Tribuna offered a rare glimpse into the artistic taste of the Renaissance collectors of antiquities. Unfortunately, after the end of this temporary Exhibition in May 2021, the Tribuna returned to its beautifully restored but still less spectacular state.

Tribuna North. – during the “Domus Grimani” Exhibition. Photo by Timetravelrome.

Sources:

https://www.venetianheritage.org/project

Cardinal Domenico Grimani’s Legacy of Ancient Art to Venice, Marilyn Perry, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 41 (1978), pp. 215-244

The Statuario Publico of the Venetian Republic, Marilyn Perry, Saggi e Memorie di storia dell’arte, Vol. 8 (1972), pp. 75-150, 221-253

The restoration of Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa in Venice, Loggia N27, 2014.

Immagine originaria e stratificazione di identità mutate“. Massimiliano Ciammaichella and Gabriella Liva. 2° Convegno Internazionale dei Docenti delle Discipline della Rappresentazione Congresso della Unione Italiana per il Disegno.

Some exhibitions are not new – they started in 2023 or are being extended. If you see an exhibition that’s missing – feel free to email me at contact@timetravelrome.com and I will add it to the list! :)

🪔 USA

~New York, MET 19/11/2023 – 03/03/2024 “Africa and Byzantium”

~Tampa, Museum of Art 13/01/2023 – 2026 “Life & Death in the Ancient World”

~Penn Museum 03/06/2023 – TBA “Ancient Food & Flavor”

~Arlington, Museum of Art 30/03/2024 – 23/06/2024 “Pompeii: The Immortal City”

🪔UK

~London, British Museum 01/02/2024 – 23/06/2024 “Legion – life in the Roman army”

~Colchester, Castle 15/07/2023 – 14/01/2024 “Gladiators: A Day at the Roman Games”

🪔 Italy & Vatican City

~Rome, Musei Capitolini 24/11/2023 – 05/05/2024 “Fidia”

~Rome Bath of Diocletian, until 21 April 2024 “Dacia. The last frontier of Romanity”

~Rome, École française de Rome 29/05/2024 – 20/12/2024 “School’ own Antiquities Collection”

~Sesto Fiorentino, Ernesto Ragionieri Library 29/09/2023 – 31/07/2024 “Moments of life on the plain before, during and after the Etruscans Archaeology unveiled in Sesto Fiorentino”

~Vatican City, Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis 17/11/2023 – TBA “Life and Death in the Rome of the Caesars”

🪔 France

~Paris, Louvre 29/02/2024 – 28/09/2025 “Near Eastern Antiquities in Dialogues: The MET at the Louvre”

~Paris, Louvre 24/04 – 16/09/2024 “Olympism: Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy”

~Paris, Crypte of the Notre Dame 31/01/2024 – “Objects recovered in the Seine river since prehistory until present days”

~Orléans, Hôtel Cabu 17/06/2023 – 28/04/2024 – “Archaeological treasuries”

~Strasbourg, City Exhibition Centre 11/10/2023–23/02/2024 “Tutankhamun : Discovering the Forgotten Pharaoh”

🪔 Germany

~Frankfurt, Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung 08/03/2023 – 21/01/2024 “Machine room of the Gods”

~Giessen,  Oberhessisches Museum 31/03/2023 –  TBA “Of Beasts and Men – Menschen und Tiere in der Antiken Kunst”

🪔 Netherlands

~Amsterdam, The Allard Pierson Museum 06/10/2023 – 25/02/2024 “Face to Face: The people behind Mummy Portraits”

~Amsterdam, H’ART  Museum 16/09/2023 – 20/05/2024 “Julius Caesar  I came, I saw, I met my doom”

🪔Switzerland

~Basel, Antikenmuseum 19/11/2023 – 26/05/2024 “Iberians”

🪔Croatia

~Split, Archaeological Museum 25/06/2023 – TBA “Avars and Slavs south of the Drava”

🪔Australia

~Melbourne, Potter Museum of Art 24/07/2023 – 26/07/2024 “Ancient Lives: Insights from the Classics and Archaeology Collection“

Rome, the City and the Empire – Exhibition at Louvre Lens.

Masterpieces of Louvre Collection

The greatest masterpieces from the Roman collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris are presented on this occasion to tell the story of Rome, its empire and its art. Few museums outside Italy have a collection of antiquities that offers such a broad overview of Roman art as the Louvre.

Statue of Nero as boy. 1st century AD. The boy wears the “toga praetexta” over a tunic and a “bolla” is worn around the neck. The right hand was restored. From Borghese collection. In Louvre since 1807.

Roman civilization expressed itself through all the arts of its time and spread on a very large scale, even to the present-day region of Hauts-de-France, which in ancient times was part of the province of Belgian Gaul. Its artistic models spread on a large scale and mixed with other traditions in many regions.

Relief from the Forum Trajan. It shows a sacrificial procession with emperor Trajan in tunic and toga, surrounded by lictors. In the background the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Rom, early 2nd century AD. From Borghese Collection. In Louvre since 1807.

Bust of Augustus. Rome. End of 1st century BC / beginning of the 2nd century AD. From Borghese Collection. In Louvre since 1807.

Roman life expressed through art

In its open society, art was expressed both through official and popular commissions as well as through popular manifestations. This artistic heterogeneity reflects the great social, cultural and geographical diversity of an empire that stretched from Western Europe to the Near East and whose history spans more than thirteen centuries.

A so called “Campana Plaque” showing chariot race. In the background – a lap counter in the shape of five dolphins. Dated to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. Acquired by Louvre in 1825. 

From the work of the mind to that of the fields, from the entertainment of the theatre, the circus or the hunt to the pleasures of banqueting, bathing, grooming and love, Roman art represented everything, paying equal attention to the details of official or private, imperial or popular life.

Fragment of a floor mosaic: the preparations for a banquet. About 180-190 AD. In Louvre collection since 1891.

A funerary stele with an image of a gladiator. Below – epitaph of Araxios by his wife Ammias. Date: 150 – 225 AD. From Lydia, Thyatira. Donated to Louvre in 1904.

Variety of techniques and themes

The exhibition mixes materials and techniques, alternating large-scale works with more modest objects. The entire exhibition is organized around major themes that do not ignore the chronology of this fascinating civilization.

Mosaic dating from 200 / 225 AD. Found in Antakya (Antioch on Orontes) in 1934, in the house of the Psyches. The portrait is probably an allegory of Oceanide.

The more than four hundred unique exhibits offer a fascinating view of the politics, urbanization, religious and artistic experience, as well as the social and geographical aspect of that rich Roman civilization, which is also inextricably linked to the ancient Greek world.

Part of a necklace. 350-400 AD, possibly from Constantinople. At the center – aureus of Constantine I; surrounded by 3 busts of women, an old man, and a young man.

Sarcophagus depicting Christ in the midst of the apostles, called “Traditio Legis”. It was found in Rome in the mausoleum of the Anicii, under the apse of St. Peter’s in the Vatican. The four sides of the sarcophagus were dispersed: three (front and sides) are in the Louvre and the fourth in Rome in the Palazzo dei Conservatori. The pieces in the Louvre come from the Borghese collection (purchased in 1808).

Syncretic culture of Rome

Roman culture presents very strong peculiarities. Rome developed its own political organization, visual culture, religious concept and original customs. This rich culture simultaneously fed on the many influences from the Mediterranean world and especially from the Greek ancient world, the ideal of the time.

Orestes and Pylades, 1st century AD from a Greek original. It was carved by Pasiteles, Greek sculptor active in Rome in the first century BC. From Borghese collection; in Louvre since 1807.

The universal pretensions of the rulers soon multiplied as the city opened up to the many annexed provinces: the local elite acquired Roman citizenship, engaged in an imperial career and the wealthiest citizens from the provinces participated in the Senate. Several Roman emperors originated from these provinces in the second century AD.

Busts Roman Emperors: Two busts of Marcus Aurelius found in 1674 at near Rome in Acqua Traversa. The first depicts a young Emperor, and the second – the Emperor in a more advanced age. The third bust is of Septimius Severus.

This prestigious exhibition focuses on the contribution of Rome’s citizens to the city’s political system, as well as on the Senate, the magistracy, the imperial cult, architecture, literature, dramaturgy and philosophy, which all together left a great mark on the ancient city. Furthermore, extensive attention is paid to the military exploits and the religious cults in the Roman Empire.

Mithra relief found in 1926 in Fiano Romano. Part of the permanent Louvre-Lens collections.

In short, the exhibition offers the visitor a fascinating and penetrating insight into virtually all aspects of life in ancient Rome.

Portrait of Pompey the Great, 3rd quarter of the 1st century BC. Acquired by Louvre in 2017.

In addition, several panels and maps provide clear explanations in French, English and Dutch. The exhibition still runs until 25 July 2022.

All useful information on the website www.louvrelens.fr

Written by Michel Gybels for Time Travel Rome

Despite his disdain for the aristocratic elite, Domitian was an able administrator: during his early years he governed the State with prudence and intelligence, while the taxation was strict but fair. Domitian’s foreign policy was also prudent: after military campaigns led earlier by himself and by his father, he strive to protect and consolidate existing borders. Until AD 88 Domitian internal policies were moderate, but after a failed revolt of AD 89, Domitian began to pursue a very harsh policy. In the last three years of his reign, from 93 to 96, real terror reigned in Rome: trials for state crimes were revived and the property of those executed went to the treasury.

Domitian had no children, which further increased his suspicion. Each failed conspiracy was followed by new executions, which in turn generated new plots. Eventually the emperor’s wife, Domitia, sensing the danger to herself, conspired with two prefects of the Praetorian Guard, which led to Domitian’s death.

During the later years of his reign Domitian conducted costly military campaigns, but he also undertook the construction of major structures in Rome, including the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter, the Temple of Jupiter the Guardian in the Quirinal, and his own magnificent Villa Alban near Rome.

In this post we will review some of the major building projects of Domitian in Rome – information about these monuments comes from our TimeTravelRome Mobile App. We will also make a virtual tour of an exceptional exhibition dedicated to Domitian, which can be visited now at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden.  The review of the Exhibition was prepared by Michel Gybels who attended the exhibition in early March 2022.

1/ Domitian and Rome

• Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus

The presence of a temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the southern peak of the Capitoline Hill can be traced all the way back to the time of the Tarquins in the sixth century BC. The first, Etruscan style temple was dedicated in the hope it would soon become Rome’s foremost cult centre. To this end it didn’t disappoint; for it was at the Capitoline’s Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus that the Romans performed some of their most important religious rites and rituals.

It was here that magistrates would come to divine whether or not it was auspicious to undertake an upcoming military campaign. Should it be deemed so, and should they be successful in their undertaking, it was here they would return at the climax of their triumphal procession to offer sacrifice to their chief god. The texts known as the Sibylline Oracles were also kept here until they were mostly destroyed—along with the temple that housed them—in the fire of 83 BC. After that, Augustus had them copied and transferred to his Temple of Apollo on the Palatine.

La maquette de Rome à l’époque de Constantin (306-337) réalisée par Italo Gismondi entre 1933 et 1937. By Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France – Maquette de Rome (musée de la civilisation romaine, Rome), CC BY 2.0.

Quintus Lutatius Catulus rebuilt the temple in 69 BC, earning himself the nickname “Capitolinus”. And he rebuilt it well enough that Caesar’s assassins were able to barricade themselves inside it 25 years later on the Ides of March 44 BC. The temple wasn’t strong enough to survive the fire of 69 AD, however, when clashes from the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors spilt over into the city’s streets. The war’s ultimate victor, Vespasian, rebuilt the temple in 75 AD. But five years later, during the reign of his son Titus, yet another fire consumed it along with many of the city’s structures.

Titus’s brother, the Emperor Domitian (81 – 96 AD) rebuilt a fourth and final Temple of Jupiter that would last for the rest of antiquity. Its material outlasted its purpose, however; and Christianity’s rise and paganism’s fall culminated with Theodosius’s edict closing all pagan temples in 392 AD. From this time on, the temple’s structure was opportunistically picked at and recycled until the sixteenth century, when Giovanni Pietro Caffarelli built his family palace in situ, using all remaining material possible.

What little that survives of this monumentally important temple, namely its foundations and part of its altar, can be seen behind the Palazzo dei Conservatori, within the Museo Nuovo Capitolino, and on the Via del Tempio di Giove. Remarkably, however, these are the cappellaccio base remains of the sixth century original rather than any of the subsequent reconstructions. Using these as a basis, we can estimate its size to have been around 53 by 63 metres.

Cockerell, C.R.; Imaginary view of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, Rome; Credit line: (c) Royal Academy of Arts / Photographer credit: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited

Each within a separate cella in the temple would have stood ornate enormous statues of the Capitoline triad: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Unsurprisingly none of the originals have survived the centuries. But the Jupiter of Otricoli in the Vatican Museums offers us a good idea of what the gold and ivory (chryselephantine) statue of Jupiter might have looked like.

• Rome Domus Augustana – Palace of Domitian

Serving as the emperor Domitian’s private (as opposed to official pubic) palace, the Domus Augustana formed part of an enormous 40,000 square metre palace complex covering the entire south-eastern side of the Palatine Hill. The complex, which we now divide up as (from West to East) the Domus Flavia, the Domus Augustana and the Stadium, was designed by Rabirius: Domitian’s prized architect and the man who deserves most of the credit for the emperor’s impressive and prolific architectural legacy. In antiquity, the complex as a whole was known as the Domus Augustana. It derived its name from Domitian’s wish to establish continuity to the first emperor Augustus. But it’s more than likely that it also comes from the original modest House of Augustus being subsumed within the Domus Flavia. The complex was completed in 92 AD—four years before Domitian’s assassination.

Palatin, localisation des différentes sections du palais impérial, By Cassius Ahenobarbus – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The interior décor made a dramatic break from past tradition. Domitian manipulated space within the Domus Augustana to create a more sensory experience, pouring light from different directions into rooms of various shapes and sizes to disorientate his visitors. Among its many rooms were many private ones for the emperor’s sole use. To these the emperor would often retreat, according to Pliny the Younger, driven “by his fear, pride, and hatred of mankind”. In fact, such was Domitian’s paranoia towards the end of his reign that he lined the walls of the palace’s portico with the selenite (phengites lapis), allowing him at all times to see the reflection of whoever might be approaching him.

Fresco with scenes from the Trojan myth. Domus Transitoria, under the triclinium of the Flavian palace. By ArchaiOptix – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One visitor to Domitian’s palace was Apollonius, whose biography vividly describes the Hall of Adonis where he was greeted. The passage describes baskets of brightly coloured flowers growing in abundance, and the walls of the palace painted with garden scenes. Trajan would inherit the palace once the Flavian dynasty came to an end with Domitian’s assassination. He would make it, according to his panegyrist Pliny the Younger a “safer and happier place” (tutior… securior). After Trajan, it would go on to be the residence of almost all successive emperors.

Ruins of the Domus Augustana on Palatine Hill viewed from the Piazalle Ugo La Malfa, By Jean-Pol Grandmond – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Though little of the palace’s former splendour remains, there’s still enough to see. You can’t get down to the lower level, but from the floor above you can see the peristyle courtyard with fountains and crumbling walls that would have once been awash with coloured marble. In 2007 a vaulted cavern was discovered beneath the palace which some are calling Lupercale: supposedly where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus.

• Rome Domus Flavia – Flavian Palace

As part of Domitian’s enormous Domus Augustana complex, the Domus Flavia served as the public (as opposed to private) area of the emperor’s residence. It stands at the northwestern section of the palace complex—connected to the emperor’s private Domus Augustana to the southeast—and was the first part of the palace to be completed in around 92 AD. The Domus Flavia is made up of several large sections. The poorest preserved is the Basilica, a reception area in which the emperor would attend to his judicial duties and which also housed a detachment of Praetorian Guard. North of the palace’s peristyle is the aula regia, or regal hall, where the emperor would receive his guests and petitioners while sitting, resplendently dressed, in his apse. Then there is the cenatio: the second largest room in the palace where the emperor wined and dined his guests in an incredibly luxurious setting amongst friezes, statues and even an underground heating system. We can attribute the design of the Domus Flavia to Rabirius, the foremost architect at Domitian’s court.

Domus Flavia in Palataine Hill in Rome. By Krzysztof Golik – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Centuries of exposure to plunderers and the elements have reduced this once magnificent palace to a crumbling shell of its former self.  That said there’s enough to get a sense for what it was. The peristyle that makes up the centre of the Domus Flavia and surrounds the restored octagonal fountain might be a modern restoration, but it does retain traces of white and Numidian marble on its columns and porticoes. The vaulted ceilings of the Aula Regia might be gone, along with magnificent statues that would have lined the room’s niches, but the sheer size of the room pays testament to the number of visitors the emperor would have been expected to receive. Artefacts found on the site of the Domus Flavia (and on the Palatine in general) can be found inside the Palatine Museum.

Pianta della Domus Flavia di Domiziano. By Cristiano64 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• Rome Ludus Magnus – Gladiators Training School

“Built by the Emperor Domitian (81 – 96 AD) while the finishing touches were being put to the Colosseum, the Ludus Magnus was the largest of four training schools situated in the vicinity of the enormous Flavian Amphitheatre. Though dwarfed by the structure it served, the Ludus Magnus was a huge facility: even its relatively modest amphitheatre as big as any other in the Empire.

The Ludus Magnus was a truly multipurpose facility. Not only was it the place where the Colosseum’s gladiators would train, but it was also where they resided. Along each of its sides were fourteen cells, each of which would have been the living quarters of anywhere up to five men. Considering that the structure was probably three-storeys tall, this shows just how many gladiators it was built to accommodate.

But more than just its gladiators, the Ludus Magnus was also the workplace of administrative officials, trainers, and cooks, as well as the place where gladiators would receive (rather primitive) medical care or—if that didn’t work—be stripped of their armour and possessions and prepared for burial. The Ludus Magnus led to the Colosseum through a large tunnel, parts of which were discovered during excavations of the site.

Roma, Museo della Civiltà romana: plastico del Ludus Magnus. By Lalupa – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Ludus Magnus was only rediscovered during the time of Benito Mussolini in 1937. The Second World War got in the way of its excavation, and the surviving northern part of the complex wasn’t brought to light until 1961 (the southern section, which we can reconstruct using the marble Severan Plan, still belies the area between Via di San Giovanni and Via dei SS. Quattro Coronati).

The most visibile remains of the three-storey brick building are the fourteen rectangular rooms on its northern side, originally used to house the school’s gladiators. You can also make out the unusual presence of a small amphitheatre where the gladiators used to train, the other half of which continues beneath the modern street level, and remnants of its cavea (seating area), big enough for around 3,000 spectators.

The Ludus magnus in Rome: barracks for gladiators built by Emperor Domitian (81–96 CE), view from Via Labicana. By Jastrow – Own work, Public Domain.

• Stadium of Domitian

Built around 86 AD by Emperor Domitian after the devastating fire of 79 AD, the stadium virtually occupied the heart of the Campus Martius and was the first permanent location for athletic competitions after the Greek models. With its typical U-shape, the stadium was 275 m long, 106 m wide, and 30 m high and its terraces could seat around 30.000 people. The inner structure was built with bricks and concrete while the exterior was in travertine, the arches rested on travertine pillars with Ionic semicolumns. Entrances opened in the middle of each long side but the triumphal gate was on the curving short end, preceded by a colonnade with marble columns. In the thirties, excavations also brought to light some of the magnificent marble decoration of the stadium. Mostly used for the athletic contests during the first centuries of the Empire, the stadium lost its function in Late Antiquity, and its arcade began to provide shelter for the poor. Gradually new buildings grew on the Roman structures incorporating them yet preserving the U-shape.

Maßstabgetreues Rekonstruktionsmodell (1:100) vom Stadion des Domitian (Nordseite) um 86 n. Chr. By Rabax63 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The modern “Piazza Navona” sits exactly over the arena of the Roman stadium, reflecting its peculiar outline. The travertine arches of the curving end are still visible under the I.N.A. Palace, but other remains of the stadium could be seen in the basements of the private buildings overlooking the Piazza. Part of the underground archaeological area is now open to the public at given hours (https://stadiodomiziano.com). The ninth-century church of “Santa Agnese in Agone” was also built over the stadium, allegedly on the very spot where the Christian woman died as a martyr in 304 AD. The famous “Pasquino”, now set at the corner of “Palazzo Braschi” in the near “Piazza di Pasquino”, was probably one of the sculptures adorning the stadium. It is a copy of a Hellenistic statue group representing Ajax carrying Achilles’ body.

Piazza Navona Underground: Ruins of Stadium of Domitian. By Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China – Piazza Navona Underground: Ruins of Stadium of Domitian, PDM-owner.

• Rome Odeum – Odeon of Domitian

“Inaugurated around the same time as the Certamen Capitolinum (quadrennial games in honour of Jupiter) Domitian’s Odeon was the first of its kind in Rome, and was built in close proximity to his famed Stadium, the shape of which is now taken up by Piazza Navona. The Odeon’s chief architect, Apollodorus of Damascus, designed it to accommodate up to 10,000 spectators, who would come mainly to watch musical performances but would also play audiences to concerts, lectures, and political meetings. Its structure was semi-circular, resembling a Greek theatre. And it was the object of admiration for contemporaries and later visitors alike: the fourth century AD writer Ammianus Marcellinus counted it among the architectural wonders of the city (alongside the Pantheon, Pompey’s Theatre, and Domitian’s Stadium) while a fourth century writer described it as one of the seven wonders of the ancient city.

Campus Martius – Odeum of Domitian. Public Domain.

Sadly all that remains of Domitian’s magnificent structure is a single cipollino column that perhaps formed part of the scaena. It’s a sorry sight: standing in the centre of the cramped Piazza dei Massimi and almost permanently surrounded by cars. But you can at least make out the shape of the stadium’s stands from the façade of the sixteenth century Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne’s that now stands atop the Odeon’s former site on Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

• Castra Albana (Albano Laziale) – Domitian Villa

The Villa of Domitian is a palace built in the Alban Hills just outside Rome by the emperor Domitian in the first century AD. This vast and luxurious villa was the grandest of many lavish homes built by Roman patricians around Lake Albano on the site of the legendary city of Alba Longa. Domitian completely remodelled existing imperial residences visited by previous emperors and combined them into one huge new estate. New features included a nymphaeum, a racecourse and a theatre. Another feature was a long tunnel excavated to allow the emperor an easy walk to enjoy a fine view of the lake below.

Ruins of the ancient Roman theatre (part of the villa of Emperor Domitian). By Gugganij – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The villa was little used by Domitian’s successors, although some alterations were made under Trajan and Hadrian. Marcus Aurelius stayed at the villa for several days during a period of civil unrest in AD 175. The villa was abandoned by the fourth century, when the property is reported to have been donated to the Church.

The ruins of the villa, which are located on three terraces, are today mostly enclosed within the Castel Gandolfo estate. Among the best preserved structures are the nymphaeum, the cryptoporticus (a long stone passageway that served to support the front of the terrace above) and the theatre, which still bears much of its stucco decoration.

The cryptoporticus of the Villa of Domitian in the gardens of the Papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. By Gugganij – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

2/ Domitian Exhibition

The exhibition in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Leiden) is open until the 22th of May 2022 and it is called “God on Earth: Emperor Domitian”. The exhibition is exceptional by the quality of artefacts on display. Many objects were contributed by such major institutions as JP Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Vatican and Capitoline Museums.

We present below a few highlights from this exhibition, illustrated and commented by Michel Gybels, who attended the exhibition in early March 2022.

• Portrait bust of Domitian

This realistic portrait of Domitian shows the emperor with a youthful appearance, although it was probably made late in his reign. Domitian looks with a serene gaze and has a long neck. His receding hairline is covered by a tight line of neatly styled curls.

Collection: Capitoline Museums (Rome), Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, inv. MC 1156. Dimensions: 53 x 26 x 21 centimetres. Material: Pentelic marble. Period: 81-96 A.D. Location: Rome, Esqueline, Via Principe Amedeo. Photo by Michel Gybels. 

• Relief from tomb

This fine relief decorated a tomb that was discovered in 1848 on the Via Labicana, near Rome. It belonged to the family of Quintus Haterius Tychicus, a public building contractor under Emperor Domitian. His work is proudly displayed on the relief: five Domitian buildings immortalised in stone. They were all built or restored by Tychicus.

Collection: Vatican Museums, Gregoriano Profano Museum, Vatican City. Dimensions: 43 x 163 x 24 centimetres. Material: marble. Period: 100-120 A.D. Source of the photo.

From left to right:

– A three-arch arch, probably the monumental entrance to the sanctuary of Isis on the Campus Martius (Iseum Campense), restored by order of Domitian after the fire of 80 AD.

– The three levels of the Flavian amphitheatre

– A second and a third arch, of which one is not sure which ones they are: they may be the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum and an arch at the end of the Via Sacra, which would have marked the entrance to Domitian’s palace.

– On the far right is the temple of Iupiter Stator, also placed on the slopes of the Palatine.

• Bracelets

Suetonius wrote biographies of the first twelve Roman emperors in 120 AD. They are depicted on the coins in this bracelet from the 19th century. On one side, you can see Julius Caesar and the Julian-Claudian emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Nero. On the other side are the emperors of the ‘four emperor year’ 68-69: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and the Flavian emperors: Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian.

Collection and photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, gift of C. Ruxton Love Jr., 1967). Dimensions: 19.7 x 2.4 centimetres. Material: gold, amethysts. Period: ca. 46 B.C.-96 A.D. Source of the photo.

• Julia Titi

Julia was Domitian’s mistress and is depicted here with her typical hairstyle: an upturned head of curls. The deeply drilled holes create a light-dark effect in the marble: typical of the Flavian sculpture style. Minuscule traces of paint suggest that the curls may originally have been coloured red, but they may also have been a red undercoat for gilding. The statue was decorated with gold earrings and a diadem, inlaid with gold, silver or precious stones. A chain was attached to the small holes next to her neck.

Collection: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu. Dimensions: height: 33 centimetres. Material: marble with paint residues. Period: 90 A.D. Source of the photo. Own work by Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• Soldier

This soldier belongs to the twelfth legion: XII Legio Fulminata, which gave Titus the victory in Judea. It was part of a relief with soldiers, from the first ‘Arch of Titus’, on the Circus Maximus. It was paid for by the Senate and inaugurated in 81 AD, after Titus’ death.

The Arch of Titus was the first to be built not as a passage through the city walls, or as an entrance in a fortress wall, but rather as a picturesque setting on the axis of the Circus Maximus. It was the first arch with four fully rounded columns at the front.

Collection: Rome, Capitoline Museums, Palazzo Nuovo (depot). Dimensions: 22 x 14 centimetres. Material: marble. Period: 61 A.D. Location: Rome, Circus Maximus, excavated remains from the arch of Titus. Photo by Michel Gybels. 

• Wheat measure

This corn measure (a modius) was found in the Roman fort at Carvoran, along Hadrian’s Wall. The object was used to measure grain for tax purposes. The indicated capacity (the weekly grain ration of a soldier) was smaller than what actually went in, so the taxpayer was in fact cheated. It is an extremely rare find: not only in the province of Britannia, but in the entire Roman Empire.

The inscription on the modius should read: “In the fifteenth consulate of Emperor Domitianus Caesar Augustus, Germanicus tested the capacity of 17 ½ sextarii; weight 38 lbs”. The name ‘Domitian’, however, was erased after the death of the emperor and his damnatio memoriae in 96 A.D. In about forty per cent of the four hundred surviving texts and inscriptions on Domitian, such a thing happened.

Collection: Chollerford, Hexham Clayton Museum, Chester’s Roman Fort and Museum Hadrian’s Wall. Courtesy English Heritage Trust/ The Trustees of the Clayton Collection. Dimensions: height: 29 centimetres, diameter at bottom: 30.5 centimetres. Material: copper alloy. Period: 90-91 A.D. Location: Carvoran (England), Roman fort. Photo by Michel Gybels.