“Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit” — Horace

“Captive Greece captured her savage conqueror.” With these words, the poet Horace accurately described the fascination that ancient Greek civilization exerted upon the Romans. Art, literature, philosophy, and education inspired Roman society and profoundly shaped it, resulting in the creation of the Greco-Roman civilization, essentially the foundation of Western civilization on a global scale.

This influence proved decisive from the very beginnings of the relationship between the Greeks and the peoples of the Italian Peninsula, Etruscans, Latins, and others, as well as, naturally, with the peoples of Sicily and southern Italy, where important Greek settlements and colonies were established.

The Exhibition focuses primarily on the Art and the influence of the ancient Greek Art on Roman civilization until the 20th century. Thirty eight masterpieces in ceramic, bronze, and marble, unique works that are not permitted to leave the Museums of Italy, comprise this Exhibition, which is organized into seven Sections:

Section I – Before Rome: Greek Merchants and Etrusco-Italic Aristocrats

Section II – Artists in Magna Graecia

Section III – The Sea as an Archive

Section IV – The Romans’ Greece

Section V – Living the Greek Way

Section VI – The Aristocratic Collecting of Modern Era

Section VII – Italian Looks: Canova, Savinio, de Chirico

A unique exhibition of inspiration, a gift and a collaboration between Italy and Greece.