Museum of Roman Civilization

Museum of Roman Civilization
Museo della Civiltà Romana
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Established1952 (1952)
LocationPiazza Giovanni Agnelli 10, 00144 Rome, Italy
Coordinates41°49′55″N 12°28′41″E / 41.83194°N 12.47806°E / 41.83194; 12.47806
TypeArchaeology, Art Museum
Websitewww.museociviltaromana.it

The Museum of Roman Civilization (Italian: Museo della Civiltà Romana) is a museum in the Esposizione Universale Roma district of Rome devoted to aspects of Ancient Roman Civilization.

The museum has been closed for renovation since 2014.

History and general introduction

The museum from the outside

The museum was designed by the architects Pietro Ascheri, D. Bernardini and Cesare Pascoletti (1939–1941). Its 59 sections illustrate the history of Roman civilization from its origins to the 4th century, with models and reproductions, as well as original material. The premises are shared with a planetarium.

Model of ancient Rome by Italo Gismondi
Detail of the model of the Capitoline Hill

It houses, among other things:

The museum was closed for renovation in January 2014, and work on the renovation was started in June 2017. As of January 2025, the design has been finalized, and the estimated date of completion is the second quarter of 2026. The official date of reopening, however, has not yet been announced.

Structure

There are three main itineraries through the museum:

Historical sections

Thematic sections

Model of Imperial Rome

Il Plastico is today the most important reference for any serious attempt of reconstruction of the Ancient Rome: it has been used for the "Rome Reborn 1.0" 3D Visualization Project (B. Frischer, Director, University of Virginia; D. Favro, Associate Director, UCLA; D. Abernathy, Director of 3D Modeling, University of Virginia; G. Guidi, Director of 3D Scanning, Politecnico di Milano). Gismondi's model can be seen also in a few shots of Ridley Scott's Gladiator.

In the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, the marble colonnade of the museum doubled as a cemetery after the Archconfraternity of the Departed confraternity barred the filming of a funeral scene at the Campo Verano cemetery. The colonnade was also featured in the 2024 film Conclave. The music video of the song "Cruel Summer" Ace of Base was also filmed at here in 1998.

References

  1. ↑ The Buildings of Europe: Rome, section 191, Christopher Woodward, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1995, ISBN 0-7190-4032-9
  2. ↑ s.r.o, Tripomatic. "Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome, Italy". travel.sygic.com.
  3. 1 2 "Museo della Civiltà Romana (Museum of Roman Civilization) in Rome - Attraction | Frommer's". www.frommers.com.
  4. ↑ "Museum of Roman Civilization, Rome, Italy". www.museolibroantico.com.
  5. ↑ "Resta chiuso il Museo della Civiltà Romana durante il Giubileo". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  6. ↑ "Al via i lavori al Museo della Civiltà Romana - aperto il cantiere da venerdì 9 giugno 2017". www.museociviltaromana.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  7. ↑ "Caput Mundi: Museo della civiltà romana | Roma si trasforma". www.romasitrasforma.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  8. ↑ Arciconfraternita di Carità verso i Trapassati
  9. ↑ "James Bond: New 'Spectre' Pic Starts Rome Segment Shoot". Variety. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "James Bond ordered not to film in Roman cemetery". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Biswas, Upamanyu (2024-10-24). "Where Was Conclave Filmed?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
Preceded by
Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome		 Landmarks of Rome
Museum of Roman Civilization		 Succeeded by
Museum of the Ara Pacis