Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

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  • Address
    Largo di Villa Peretti 1, Monti
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  • Phone
    06 399 67 700
  • Website
  • Transport
    underground rail: Termini
  • Tue-Sun 09:00 - 19:45

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Lonely Planet review

Some of the city's best examples of Roman art are housed in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, a converted 19th-century Jesuit College. A stunning, light-filled museum, it's worth at least a couple of hours of anybody's time.

One of the first pieces you see as you enter is Minerva , a huge polychrome statue of the goddess made of alabaster, marble and black basalt. The face is a modern plaster cast taken from another statue of Minerva. The statue, possibly inspired by early Greek artists, was found at the bottom of the Aventine, and probably formed part of a temple to Minerva on the hill. Much early Roman art was designed to pamper imperial egos and on the ground floor you'll find plenty of macho posturing. Check out, for example, the 1st-century BC Republican general in Sala I, heroically posing with his armour draped over him. Another highlight is a ravaged but naturalistic image of a voluptuous Afrodite (Sala V), a Roman copy of a Greek original from the Villa Adriana at Tivoli. Notice her wonderfully rippling midriff.