May 8--Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

Today I went to a different part of town.  My friend Karen Zens, who had lived in Rome several years, had recommended the National Museum of Rome.  It is near the train terminals (Termini), and the #64 bus goes there.  I also got to see what will be my shopping district, Via Nazionale, on the way.  This museum is actually several museums, but today I just went to the part housed in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, the building above.  I didn't take any photos, but did see a guy sketching.  That looked like fun, but I hadn't brought my sketching stuff.

There are a lot of statues and fragments of statues on the ground floor of the museum.  Of particular interest was a gallery of stone heads.  They seem to be ordinary people and I learned the Romans made them to remember their ancestors and the likenesses were more important than idealizing them.  They date to 500-1 B.C.   A bronze statue of "The Boxer at Rest" shows his face as scarred and his back muscles knotted.  It is very compelling. 

One of the most well-known works is "The Discus Thrower."  It is actually a Roman copy of a Greek statue.  

This museum had a special exhibit showing examples of how, in the 19th century, copying Greek and Roman statues became common.  In fact, the idea was that if a person went on a European tour it would be expected that they would bring back a copy of a famous statue. 

There was much more, but the second floor had frescoes and mosaics from Roman family villas.  The Villa Farnesina frescoes were especially compelling and show gardens with birds and fruit trees.  Lovely!

On the way back to my apartment, I stopped to check out some of the shops.  I will return because I have more tourist sights to see in the neighborhood and some more shopping to do, too.