Two Bronzes of about 2 meters as a symbol of Italy. The imprint of a story through two statues of the fifth century. to. C. For 50 years i Bronzi di Riace – together with Pompeii and a few other works – they accompany Italy's image in international forums. The August 16th, 1972 off the coast of Calabria, in front of Riace, a diver named Stefano Mariottini discovered the two marvelous statues lying on extraordinary seabeds.
After a long political battle between municipal administrations, the statues were placed in the Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria. And recently they have been proposed as property of Unesco, in relation to the environmental value of the discovery site and the sea of the Calabrian coast.
Italy from 12 July therefore makes homage to that fantastic discovery with a series of events. The first at 17 in the Curia Iulia al Roman Forum in Rome organized by the Ministry of Culture. The Minister Dario Franceschini, who will be present, says: “The Bronzes are extraordinary statues that also have a beautiful story to tell with still many mysteries. They are also a great challenge: to make them one of the biggest attractors of international tourism in our country".
The Riace Bronzes as attractors of new tourism
The events scheduled until 2023 want to tell a new story of contemporary Calabria. An interweaving of art, territorial quality, environment, rebirth. The meeting in Rome is entitled "A new color reconstruction of ancient sculptures", and is an example of the updating of treasures recovered from the sea half a century ago. In the field are the General Directorate of Museums, the Colosseum Archaeological Park and the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
The parterre of the meeting was very qualified: Massimo Osanna, Director General of Museums, Carmelo Malacrino, Director of the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, Salvatore Settis, former Director of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and Academic of the Lincei, Vinzenz Brinkmann, Head of the Department of Antiquities of the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt am Main.
Much space will be given to new technologies. In fact, the video on the Chroma Ancient Sculpture in Color exhibition, inaugurated last July at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, will be screened. A video that explored all the polychromy of ancient sculptures. In New York, among other things, two perfect copies of the statues created with the same technologies are on display. The bronze reproduction of the head and the video of the New York exhibition will be visible to the visiting public the Colosseum Archaeological Park until 18 July. The head was created by Vinzenz Brinkmann with a millimeter scan and 3D relief. Why this? To demonstrate to the public the original color of the statue. A dye free from the effects of time and oxidation, which offers the colors of the time
Reggio Calabria and Riace are preparing the 50th anniversary for August 16th
The link with Calabria will be very strong, as the Region and the Associations will be committed to promoting visits and debates along the Ionian strip. From October to December, and again for 2023, explains the Ministry, Calabria will travel in Italy and in the world, narrating itself through artistic interventions that will present its beauty, the preserved habitat, the natural richness of the sea and the mountains, in the great European cities.
For the Bronzes one thinks of exhibitions within containers and festivals among the most renowned in the world. But he is also preparing a virtual exhibition on the extraordinary history of Magna Graecia.
For 16 August, date of discovery, the Municipality of Reggio Calabria and that of Riace will pay homage to the discovery. In Reggio a video mapping will be installed on the facade of the Archaeological Museum.
In Riace we will meet again with the shows "L'alba dei Bronzi and"The Night of the Riace Bronzes”. On both occasions, two goals will be consolidated: art and the natural beauty of a Region that is often not studied in depth.
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