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Palazzo Altemps Review
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Palazzo Altemps 
- Address: Piazza Sant'Apollinare 46, Piazza Navona, Rome
- Phone: 06/39967700
- www.pierreci.it
- Category: Castles/Palaces
- Location: Piazza Navona
Fodor's Review:
Containing some of the finest ancient Roman statues in the world, this collection formerly formed the core of the Museo Nazionale Romano. As of 1995, it was moved to these new, suitably grander digs. The palace's sober exterior belies a magnificence that appears as soon as you walk into the majestic courtyard, studded with statues and covered in part by a retractable awning. It's a reconstruction of a nicety used in many a patrician abode, a throwback to the type of awning that shaded the ancient Romans in the Colosseum. The restored interior hints at the splendid Roman lifestyle of the 16th through 18th centuries and serves as a stunning showcase for the most illustrious pieces from the Museo Nazionale's collection of ancient Roman sculpture, which includes famous pieces from the Ludovisi family collection. In the frescoed salons you can see the Galata, a poignant work portraying a barbarian warrior who chooses death for himself and his wife rather than humiliation by the enemy. Another highlight is the large Ludovisi sarcophagus, magnificently carved from marble. In a place of honor is the Ludovisi Throne, which shows a goddess emerging from the sea being helped by her acolytes. For centuries this was heralded as one of the most sublime statues of Greek sculpture but, today, at least one authoritative art historian considers it a colossally overrated fake. Look for the framed explanations of the exhibits that detail (in English) how and exactly where Renaissance sculptors, Bernini among them, added missing pieces to the classical works. In the lavishly frescoed Loggia stand busts of the Caesars.
- Cost: EUR 5
- Open: Tues.-Sun. 9-7:45
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- Walking Tours of Rome
4 responses; most recent on 10/06/2008, 04:55 pm - Express train between Fiumicino and Rome Termini at Christmas/New Year
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