It was normal, two years ago, to imagine the parallel with the Riace Bronzes. Celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the two statues in the sea of Riace were in full swing, when from other waters, those of the thermal sanctuary of Bagno Grande di San Casciano in Bagni, in the province of Siena, emerged from the mud the largest deposit of bronze statues from the Etruscan and Roman era ever discovered in ancient Italy and one of the most important in the entire Mediterranean. Some called that comparison exaggerated, which over time has lost all foundation. And now here they are, close together, at the Museum of Reggio Calabria, in the exhibition «The Gods Return – The Bronzes of San Casciano»inaugurated yesterday, promoted by the Ministry of Culture and created by the General Directorate of Museums of the MiC, led by Prof. Massimo Osanna, with the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria.
The exhibition is set up with an immersive path, opened by a video that tells the path of discovery, the first findings, the beauty of the finds brought to light. Then, the display cases that shine like galaxies in the cosmos. Everything serves to capture the visitor’s attention, his emotional involvement, of discovery and knowledge.
These are masterpieces that date from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. “The coexistence of different hands, of different workshops is striking,” says Jacopo Tabolli, of the University for Foreigners of Siena, scientific director of the excavation in the thermal sanctuary of San Casciano in Bagni. “The works “donated” to the thermal spring come from distant cities and effectively demonstrate this coexistence of different groups, who come on pilgrimage and recognize a wonderful point of the Tuscan landscape as their permanent ritual center. San Casciano is no exception. There are many sanctuaries in which bronze was “offered” to the thermal water of the spring.”
The excavation campaign is still ongoing. In the meantime, the bronzes that were the subject of the first important discovery were put on display, first in the halls of the Quirinale Palace in Rome, and then at the Archaeological Museum in Naples. And it was on that occasion that the director of the Reggio Museum, Fabrizio Sudano, wrote to Prof. Massimo Osanna, general director of the Museums, to launch the idea of hosting the exhibition in Reggio Calabria. From then on, it was a choral effort, up until yesterday’s inauguration, which sanctioned this link between two discoveries that were not at all similar. Not at all comparable, but extraordinarily beautiful.
“These are different findings, arising in different contexts, which represent a unique opportunity both for the people of Reggio and for the many tourists who in recent weeks are invading the city, and I want to emphasize, invading”, commented at the inauguration, representing the mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà, the deputy mayor Paolo Brunetti, who in greeting the mayor of San Casciano in Bagni, Agnese Carletti, proposed a twinning between the two municipalities.
“For us, today, having had the opportunity to bring the Bronzes of San Casciano in Bagni here is a great emotion,” commented Agnese Carletti, mayor of San Casciano in Bagni. “It is a parallel that we have all made. But it was a parallel made with the soul. There are infinite differences between the Riace Bronzes and the Bronzes of San Casciano in Bagni: the one in San Casciano is a scientific project, for the Riace Bronzes it was a fortuitous discovery. Bringing them together means telling Italy a little about the value and richness of the incredible heritage that we have, but also an exchange in the name of interculturality that pushes us to network, to team up for the good of all.”
“Reggio was a bit of an obligatory choice from the start,” commented Prof. Osanna. “The discovery of San Casciano was immediately associated with that of the Bronzes, not from a qualitative point of view, obviously, but as a discovery of important bronzes. The beauty is seeing them here, also to understand how the world changes between the two masterpieces of the fifth century, which must have been found in a large Greek sanctuary, and these statues, objects of private devotion of an elite of Etruscans and Romans.”
The exhibition layout, in an engaging play of lights, which highlights the statuettes and the numerous finds, coins and fragments found on site, tells what happened in the ancient sanctuary. «For us they are an inexhaustible source of knowledge – says the director of the MANRC, Fabrizio Sudano, as an archaeologist –. They trace the daily life, the sacredness of the objects and rites that took place in the sanctuary, in a place certainly far from Magna Graecia, from Calabria, but very close to us in terms of rites and rituals. It will be a close comparison with the Riace bronzes that were so much talked about at the time of their discovery. But they are completely different contexts, statues and objects that dialogue because they finally make us talk about antiquity in a different way, but with the same intent, that of promoting and enhancing the immense historical heritage of our country».
The exhibition will remain open until January 12th, with continuous hours from 9am to 8pm, from Tuesday to Sunday..