The 8 highlights of… the Centrale Montemartini

The Roman power station along the Via Ostiense was opened in 1912 and closed its doors in 1963. The station had been named after the economist and socialist politician Giovanni Montemartini (1867-1913), who had strongly advocated bringing public services into the hands of the municipality (municipalizzazione in Italian). After the closure in 1963, there was a lot of discussion about what to do with the now unused complex. For a time it was a serious option just to demolish the power station but ultimately the choice fell on restoration and use of the complex as a space for exhibitions. As early as 1995 the Centrale Montemartini was used for putting items from the Capitoline Museums on display when the Palazzo dei Conservatori was being renovated. Since the Capitoline Museums – like every other museum in the world – own more works than they can exhibit, it was decided to turn the old power station into a permanent branch of the museums. It was formally opened as a museum in 1997.

I visited the Centrale Montemartini for the first time in 2022. COVID had the world in its clutches, and there was hardly a living soul in the museum to admire the special exhibition about mosaics. Although I must admit that the most beautiful works in the collection of the Capitoline Museums can be found in the Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, I can effortlessly compile a personal Top 8 for the Centrale Montemartini as well.

1. The head of Fortuna Huiusce Diei

The enormous head of Fortuna was actually the main reason I wanted to visit the museum. It was part of a statue of the goddess that once stood in a temple in the Field of Mars, in the area that is now called the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina. The temple of Fortuna Huiusce Diei – “Fortune of this Day” – had been promised in 101 BCE by the proconsul Quintus Lutatius Catulus, on the eve of the Battle of Vercellae. The Romans were up against the Germanic Cimbri, who had been a serious threat to Italy for over ten years and had defeated several Roman armies. However, at Vercellae the Romans won a crushing victory. Catulus fulfilled his promise, and the temple of Fortuna Huiusce Diei must have been consecrated somewhere in the early first century BCE.

During excavations in the Largo Argentina in 1925-1928, the head of Fortuna was discovered, together with an arm and two feet. The parts that have been preserved are still impressive, if only because of their size. It should be noted, though, that the statue was an acrolith, which means that only the uncovered parts were made of marble and the other parts – mainly the clothes – of less expensive materials.[1] This significantly speeded up the process of making statues and made it cheaper as well.

2. The monument of Bocchus

While fighting their war against the Cimbri and their allies the Teutones, the Romans were simultaneously embroiled in a conflict with Jugurtha, the king of Numidia. Because of a lethal combination of incompetence and corruption, the war against Jugurtha initially went badly for the Romans. In 109 BCE they were even forced to accept a humiliating peace treaty. That treaty was, however, rejected by the Senate, which immediately sent a more competent commander to Africa, the consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus. Metellus was successful in battle, and so was his successor Gaius Marius. Marius had a quaestor named Lucius Cornelius Sulla. It was Sulla who in the end managed to convince King Bocchus of Mauretania to betray his son-in-law Jugurtha. In 105 BCE Jugurtha was handed over to the Romans in chains and subsequently sent to Rome. For this arrest, which basically ended the war, Sulla received most of the credit, much to the annoyance of Marius. The two would never be reconciled again.

In the Centrale Montemartini we find remains which are thought to have been part of a monument that Bocchus erected in Rome in honour of the Roman victory over his son-in-law. This appears to be the monument that Plutarchus mentions in his biography of Sulla. The Greek biographer claims that “Bocchus, who, desiring to please the people at Rome, and at the same time to gratify Sulla, dedicated on the Capitol some images bearing trophies, and beside them gilded figures representing Jugurtha being surrendered by Bocchus to Sulla”.[2] The remains that we find in the museum must have been the platform that supported the statues. The pieces are made of grey limestone from Africa and the monument must have stood on the south side of the Capitol. In 1938 these remnants were found in the vicinity of the church of Sant’Omobono, where one can find another Area Sacra as well.

One piece of the monument features three trophies and a shield with the head of Minerva. Another piece has a shield decorated with a Roman eagle with a lightning bolt in its talons. The bird is depicted between two winged Victorias. A third part features a greave, a cuirass, a shield with a horseman, and the protective head gear of a horse. The horseman on the shield is probably Castor or Pollux. With the monument, Bocchus – who died around 80 BCE – doubtlessly sought to strengthen diplomatic ties with the Romans, and especially Sulla. Judging by Plutarchus’ text the monument was erected before the year 91 BCE, i.e. before the outbreak of the Social War in that year.

3. Friezes from the temple of Apollo Sosianus

Just north of the aforementioned church of Sant’Omobono and just behind the Theatre of Marcellus stood the temple of Apollo Sosianus.[3] Nowadays just three columns of the temple are still standing, supporting a lonely piece of architrave. Although that is marginally better than the fate suffered by its neighbour – the temple of the war goddess Bellona, of which only the contours are still visible – the temple makes for a pitiful sight. This is somewhat compensated by the fact that a number of friezes from the cella of the temple have been preserved and are on display in the Centrale Montemartini. We see men with a ferculum (litter) full of bread, and a procession with three bulls, a trophy and two prisoners. The scenes are sometimes associated with the first of three triumphs that the future emperor Augustus held in 29 BCE. With this first triumph he celebrated his victory over the Pannonians, Dalmatians and other peoples. The second day was all about his victory over Marcus Antonius at Actium, while the third celebrated the subjugation of Egypt.[4]

The history of the temple of Apollo goes back to the fifth century BCE. It was built between 433 and 431 BCE as the temple of Apollo Medicus after a plague that had claimed many lives. In 207 BCE the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Barcas had invaded Northern Italy in an attempt to link up with the army of his brother Hannibal. This led to immense panic in Rome. A procession was held, which started at the temple of Apollo. It was also in this temple that Apollo is said to have impregnated a noble Roman lady named Atia. In September of 63 BCE she gave birth to a son named Gaius Octavius, the future emperor Augustus. The story is of course nonsense, but the affection that Augustus felt for Apollo was real. In the 30s and 20s BCE the temple was restored by Gaius Sosius, the consul of 32. Originally an ally of Marcus Antonius, Augustus pardoned him after defeating Antonius at Actium. After Sosius the temple was henceforth called the temple of Apollo Sosianus.

4. Fresco with a scene from the Samnite wars

In 1875 a fresco was found in a tomb on the Esquiline featuring several scenes that refer to the Samnite wars.[5] The Romans fought three wars against the Samnites, an Oscan speaking people inhabiting the hills and mountains of Southern Central Italy. The first Samnite war took place between 343 and 341 BCE, the second between 327 and 304 BCE and the third between 298 and 290 BCE. The third war was formally the last war between the two peoples, but that does not mean that there were no more armed confrontations between them. On the contrary, Samnite troops fought for King Pyrrhus of Epirus against the Romans, and even after the king had left Italy in 275 BCE the fighting between Roman and Samnite armies continued, although at a lower intensity. As late as 82 BCE the Samnite leader Pontius Telesinus led a large force of tens of thousands of Samnites that clashed with an army commanded by the Roman general Sulla. Sulla narrowly avoided defeat at this Battle of the Colline Gate, fought on the first of November. After his hard-fought victory, he ordered the execution of thousands of Samnites taken prisoner.

The intriguing fresco must refer to either the second or third Samnite war. The two most important figures are indicated – in text that is hardly legible anymore – as Quintus Fabius and Marcus Fannius. Perhaps the former is Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, a scion of the famous gens Fabia who won fame in both wars and would serve as consul five times. He may also be his son, Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges, consul in 292 BCE. The theory that the tomb belonged to a member of the gens Fabia is, in any case, quite plausible. Unfortunately, it is completely unclear who Marcus Fannius was. In 161 BCE a certain Gaius Fannius Strabo served as consul, the first of his family to reach the office. Another Gaius Fannius, probably a nephew of Strabo, was consul in 122 BCE. Perhaps the gens Fannia had Samnite roots, but a barely legible name on a fresco seems insufficient evidence to accept that theory.

5. Togato Barberini

From the late first century BCE dates the so-called Togato Barberini. The statue represents a Roman man in a toga (a togatus), with in his hands the wax death masks of his father and grandfather. Roman aristocrats had a custom of hanging these masks on the walls of their houses. It was a way to keep in touch with their illustrious forefathers and at the same time impress visitors. The masks were also used during ceremonies. Unfortunately we do not know who the Togato Barberini is exactly. It does not seem very helpful to speculate about his identity, if only because the head of the man is not an original part of the statue. The head is, in fact, several decades older. All the three heads were, by the way, made in an era when the Romans still preferred realism over idealism in their sculptures. Imperfections were also sculpted. Two of the three men for instance clearly have a receding hairline. The statue comes from the Palazzo Barberini, hence the name.

6. The head of Otacilia Severa

The head of Otacilia Severa is hardly a masterpiece but it does present us with an opportunity to become more closely acquainted with this little-known empress from the third century. Otacilia came from a truly ancient Roman family. In 263 BCE, during the First Punic War, one of her forefathers, Manius Otacilius Crassus, was the first of his family to reach the consulship. Five hundred years later another scion of the gens Otacilia, i.e. Otacilia Severa herself, married the future emperor Philippus Arabs. The emperor came from the village of Thraconitis in the north of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. Together with his brother Gaius Julius Priscus he served as praetorian prefect during the campaign of the emperor Gordianus III against the Persians. It was a war that ended in disaster. Gordianus III was defeated and died under suspicious circumstances.

Philippus was then proclaimed emperor by the army and was given the difficult task of making peace with the Persian king Shapur. In exchange for 500,000 gold coins, Shapur was willing to make peace. The most memorable event during Philippus’ reign was the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Rome, which took place in April of 248. Otacilia had borne her husband a son, who first became caesar (crown prince or subordinate emperor) under his father and then augustus (or co-emperor). In the autumn of 249 Philippus Arabs was defeated and killed near Verona by Gaius Messius Quintus Decius. The praetorians recognised Decius as the new emperor and killed Philippus’ son, who cannot have been more than twelve years old. Otacilia’s fate remains unclear.

7. Mosaic with hunting scenes

South of Rome’s central station we find a number of interesting buildings along the Via Giovanni Giolitti. One of these buildings is the church of Santa Bibiana, another the so-called ‘temple of Minerva Medica’ (which is actually a nymphaeum or dining hall). In Antiquity there were gardens here that since the Late Republic or early Imperial age were the property of the gens Licinia. The gardens are therefore usually called the Horti Liciniani. The emperor Gallienus (253-268), also a member of the gens Licinia, loved to come here.

The area of the former Horti Liciniani has yielded rich archaeological finds. A gorgeous mosaic floor from the early fourth century was for instance found in 1904 at the church of Santa Bibiana. On the mosaic we see hunting scenes that are highly reminiscent of those of a famous Roman villa in Piazza Armerina on Sicily. According to the information panel in the museum the mosaic has two types of hunting scenes: some people are hunting animals for the games in the arena while others are on a boar hunt. The scenes are cruel to say the least, but the details and colours are magnificent. One man is for example trying to catch a bear by luring him into a crate using a ham. The man can be seen standing on the crate, ready to close the hatch once the bear has walked into the trap.

8. The train of Pope Pius IX

And now for something completely different. Let us take the express train to travel from Antiquity to the nineteenth century. Pope Pius IX – also known as Pio Nono – is still the longest-reigning pope in history. He ascended the throne of Saint Peter in 1846 and remained in office until his death in 1878. During his pontificate of almost 32 years his popularity had peaks and troughs. In 1848, the year that all of Europe was in open revolution, citizens yearning for change chanted his name, believing the Holy Father to be a liberal and an ally. But when in 1881 his coffin was taken to the church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, it was pelted with rocks and mud.

Even without analysing his entire life we may conclude that Pius IX was a controversial pope.[6] There is one project, however, for which Pius has received universal praise: he was the first pope in history to initiate the construction of railroads in the Papal States. In 1856 a railway connection between Rome and Frascati was effected, and in 1863 Pius granted Rome her first train station. A temporary station at first, it was quickly replaced by a permanent station. In the Centrale Montemartini we may admire the papal train, decorated with the coat of arms of Pope Pius IX. By the end of his pontificate, Pius was able to use this train to travel a few hundred kilometres. But the pope did not travel at all: after Italian troops had conquered Rome on 20 September 1870, Pius locked himself up in the Vatican.

Notes

[1] The Atlas of Ancient Rome, part 2, Tab. 216B.

[2] Sulla 6. Also mentioned in Marius 32 and discussed on this website. For the monument, see The Atlas of Ancient Rome, part 1, p. 164; The Atlas of Ancient Rome, part 2, Tab. 20E.

[3] See The Atlas of Ancient Rome, part 1, p. 397, 506, 511; The Atlas of Ancient Rome, part 2, Tab. 209-210a.

[4] Cassius Dio, Book 51.21-22.

[5] For more information, see this website.

[6] John Julius Norwich, The Popes, Chapter XXV.