Torino — Royal Museums Turin

Exhibition: the Scandalous and the Magnificent, 300 years of research on Industria and the cult of Isis in Piedmont

Turin celebrates the tricentennial of the Museum of Antiquities, formed in 1724, with a series of initiatives promoted by the Royal Museums to highlight the many souls the institution has had over its three centuries of existence

from Tuesday

03 September 2024

at 09:00

to Sunday

08 September 2024

at 19:00

Gagliardi da Brescia, writing to the poet Apostle Zeno, recalled how his friend Scipione Maffei, an important historian and playwright from Verona, was busy at that time “building a museum of inscriptions around the great courtyard” of theUniversity of Turin.

In the early stages of the Museum ‘s organization, artifacts from the excavation of Industria-a city reported by Pliny the Elder in the Naturalis Historia-began to play a key role, linked to the early investigations of Giuseppe Rivautella and Giovanni Ricolvi, who were soon incardinated atTurin University.

This is one of the reasons why the first exhibition-dossier of the tricentennial of the Museum of Antiquities was chosen to be dedicated to the excavation of Industria and the cult of Isis.

Focus on exposure

The exhibition, curated byarchaeologist Elisa Panero of the Royal Museums, in collaboration with theUniversity of Turin, offers a journey through the Roman city of Industria-Bodincomagus, an “alpine” center with strong cosmopolitan connotations, linking local, oriental cults and economic and cultural relations with theeastern Aegean.

The archaeological fortunes of the site have accompanied the history and events of the turin and house museum sabaudo, among the oldest attestations in Italy of the cult of Isis, referred to as “La Scandalosa e la Magnifica” in the 3rd-4th century ADhymn found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt and dedicated to the Eastern goddess.

The review moves steps from a fascination with theEast and for theEgypt nurtured by the Savoy since the Sixteenth century, through the exhibition of 75 items among statues, figurines and epigraphs, in bronze and in marble, with peculiar and evocative works such as theOsiris Chronokrator – Lord of Time – wrapped in the coils of the serpent Aion, dated to the first half of the second century A.D.-third century A.D., which arrived in dynastic collections in 1612.

Instead, it comes from the aforementioned archaeological area of Industry, now afferent to the Piedmont Regional Museums Directorate, and which is now in the municipality of Monteu da Po (TO), the very important series of bronzes, such as the Dancer, dated I-II century AD, found in the early19th century by Count Bernardino Morra of Lauriano, and the famous richly decorated bronze tripod, a valuable work dated to the mid-2nd century AD.

The peculiar sculptures dedicated to various deityIsis also depicted in the guise of Luck, Harpocrates, Apollo, Mitra, Heracles, Jupiter Ammon – the inscriptions and other bronze objects, such as the sistrum and the statuette of a priestess, allow us to delve into traditions, myths and various religions that refer to Eastern cults in line with the vocation cosmopolitan that the city of Industria must have had as early as its pre-Roman market phase on the Po.

Also present are materials ceramics from all over the Mediterranean, some exhibited for the first time, and Epigraphs attesting to very old families of origin central-Italic, such as the Avilii, i Lolli, i Sertori and the Coccei, testifying to the vibrancy of the center located on the axis of the Po River, in the heart of the most important economic, social and political trades of the time.

A city sacred to the gods

Three centuries of stories, excavations and discoveries archaeology related to the Museum of Antiquities thus traces the physiognomy of a city “sacred to the gods” but much loved by men devoted to trade commercial and to the policy of theEmpire, about which much remains to be discovered: indeed, the concluding section is an opportunity to take stock of Industria‘surbanism, the interpretation of its monuments and the prospects for research.

The exhibition is part of the project Roman Marbles and Turin Biographies: ideas and materials for the enhancement of the epigraphic collections of the Museum of Antiquities of Turin, supported by Fondazione CRT.

The exhibition is accompanied by the short guide La Scandalosa e la Magnifica .300 Years of Research on Industria and the Cult of Isis in Piedmont, published in the series I Catalogues, dedicated by the Royal Museum s to the Museum of Antiquities.

Visible April 23, 2024 to November 10, 2024.

Organized by

Musei Reali Torino

Begins

03 September 2024

at 09:00

Ends

08 September 2024

at 19:00

How to participate

Admission included in the regular ticket to the Royal Museums

Prices:

€15.00 full

€12.00 reduced

€ 13.00 reduced participants in educational activities

Free according to admission regulations

Indirizzo: Musei Reali di Torino, Piazzetta Reale, Torino, TO, Italia

Royal Museums Turin

Musei Reali di Torino, Piazzetta Reale, Torino, TO, Italia
Directions ↝

Musei Reali Torino

I Musei Reali collaborano con enti e aziende che credono nell’importanza della cultura come risorsa strategica per lo sviluppo e per il benessere della società. La missione dei Musei Reali è preservare e valorizzare il patrimonio di monumenti, di opere e di spazi che ha avuto origine dalla storia dinastica della famiglia Savoia e che qualifica un compendio urbano collocato nel cuore della città antica, ponendolo in una relazione dinamica con l’esperienza dei visitatori e sviluppando opportunità di migliore accesso, di conoscenza, di creatività e di diletto. Utilizzando strumenti tradizionali e di nuova concezione nel campo della comunicazione, dell’interpretazione e della presentazione, i Musei Reali intendono offrire ai loro pubblici un servizio dinamico, innovativo e accogliente, finalizzato alla crescita culturale nel campo della storia e delle arti visive.



  • 06 Aug 15 Oct

    Una passeggiata tra i vigneti per scegliere il proprio angolo preferito e gustare un picnic indimenticabile con il panorama di Langhe e Roero

    Santa Vittoria d’Alba Special Offers

    cournaja pic nic nel vigneto - eventi

  • 14 Sep 17 Nov

    International photography festival in the heart of the Langhe: an immersive experience to live in an enchanting land

    Neive Exhibitions

    langhe-photo-festival- eventi

  • 22 Sep 20 Oct

    Unisciti a noi per un'esperienza che coinvolge tutti i sensi, con visita della cantina, passeggiata, degustazione e pranzo

    Alba Food & Wine

    cena in vigna - eventi

  • 30 Sep 31 Jan

    I Trifulau dell’Associazione Trifulau Colline di Langa ti offrono la possibilità di partecipare alla ricerca simulata dal tartufo

    Neive Outdoor & Sport

    Langhe - Ricerca tartufi

  • 10 Oct 08 Dec

    Una mostra di assoluta originalità, che unisce tempo e culture attraverso il vino

    Barolo Exhibitions

    Architettura del vino: una lettura nel tempo

  • 12 Oct 08 Dec

    Il cuore storico della manifestazione dedicata al Tuber magnatum Pico

    Alba Fairs & Festivals

    Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco Alba - Eventi

  • 12 Oct 15 Oct

    La mostra esplora temi profondi attraverso l'uso della penna Bic e l'acrilico, con opere ispirate all'inconscio e al viaggio interiore

    Agliano Terme Exhibitions


  • 12 Oct 01 Dec

    An unforgettable experience to discover the secrets of wine directly from the producers, including tastings and untold stories, in an authentic atmosphere of conviviality

    Around the Langhe Food & Wine

    Brothers Gianni and Paola Doglia

  • 12 Oct 08 Dec

    La Cantina vi invita a degustare il suo menù dedicato al tartufo nei giorni della Fiera Internazionale

    Verduno Food & Wine

    la cantina vineria con cucina -eventi

  • 14 Oct 18 Oct

    Una mostra in cui le associazioni e istituzioni della provincia di Cuneo collaborano per celebrare il 60º anniversario della morte del celebre artista Gallizio

    Alba Exhibitions


  • 14 Oct 18 Oct

    Una mostra documentaria organizzata dall''Archivio di Stato di Asti in occasione delle Giornate Europee del Patrimonio 2024

    Asti Exhibitions


  • 14 Oct 18 Oct

    Esposizione dedicata a Ottavio Baussano e alla figlia Gea, che, con con il padre negli anni ’30 e poi dagli anni ’60, hanno contribuito alla iconografia del Palio

    Asti Exhibitions