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The National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano) in Rome is spread over several places, two of them being very close to each other and Rome's big railway station. This is one of them: the Baths of Diocletian.

Now these baths, the largest imperial baths from Antiquity, were not left alone in the middle of a big city like Rome (though due to a shrinking number of inhabitants it took surprisingly long), and by1562 a Carthusian church was being built in the ruins: Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. They had a monastery, a charterhouse, adjoining the church, and it was in the hands of the order until 1870.

This cloister, which is a part of the charterhouse, had its layout most likely designed by Michelangelo (who got the task from the pope), though he probably didn't do more than that. It still got named after him. Michelangelo was actually dead by the time construction began, in 1565 - and it took the rest of the century to finish the cloister.

The cloister is actually where the Museo Nazionale Romano began its life in 1889 - but as the collection grew, so did the need for more space and several more locals were added. Now this museum is mostly home to epigraphy and funeral and religious statues.

This was my first time visiting and I am quite sad that I hadn't done so earlier - but then again, it's always nice to discover a new gem in a city you know very well. You might not find the most famous pieces of Roman art here, but there are some really interesting ones and it's great to see some stuff you might be less familiar with. And the place itself is well worth your time and a visit - it's not the most crowded museum you will come across either.

ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.

Closeup of a marble relief - with substantial remains of the original color and gilding - which depicts a tauroctony, the slaughtering of the bull by the god Mithras. It belonged to the sculptural decoration of the second phase of the Castra Peregrinorum Mithraeum, when the building was restored and the marble relief replaced the previous one in stucco.

Mithras’ flesh, Phrygian cap, dagger, and tunic cuffs are gilded, indicating divinity and possibly relating to his close relationship with Sol Invictus - the Unconquered Sun.

End of the 3rd c. CE. Discovered in Rome, Basilica of Santa Stefano Rotondo, Mithraeum of the Castra Peregrinorum.

Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano (Baths of Diocletian, inv. 205837), Rome

An inlay glass opus sectile (type of mosaic work) panel with vibrant colors depicts a griffin, mythological creature with wings, set against a dark background. The intricate design features swirling patterns and a lion-like figure of griffin that captures the viewer's attention. The panel is on display at the National Roman Museum, Rome, Italy.

The sculpture probably belonged to a funerary monument and portrays a couple depicted as Mars and Venus. It was inspired by a model created to celebrate the emperor and his wife, which was arranged by joining two well-known statues, the Ares Borghese and the Aphrodite of Capua, from originals of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.

The figure of Mars alludes to virtus and the military valour of man, while Venus refers to beauty and sensuality. The group's reworked portraits were commissioned by wealthy members of society to celebrate their successful union.

Ostia, near the so-called Basilica Cristiana, ca. 170 CE.

Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano, Rome (inv. 108522)

Photographed May 18, 2019.

A small area of detail from the huge marble Portonaccio sarcophagus, an ancient Roman military coffin displayed at the National Roman Museum.
Photographed May 18, 2019.

Photographed May 18, 2019.

Hellenistic bronze statue of an ancient boxer/fighter; estimated to have been created between 330 B.C. and 50 B.C. The depicted boxer is wearing the leather hand wraps (called 'himántes') of that period, and the view of the head shows a busted nose, cauliflower ears, and a generally beat-up, exhausted expression. Photographed May 18, 2019.

The Via Labicana Augustus depicts Caesar Augustus dressed in his role as 'pontifex maximus,' that is, the ranking high priest in the ancient pagan Roman religion.
Photographed at the Museo Nazionale Romano, May 18, 2019.

Photographed May 18, 2019.