Originally posted on July 28, 2011 by Canicus

Today I decided to revisit the Museo Nazionale Romano which is a short walk from my hotel. The plan was first to go a block or so further to the post office to see if I could get a box to mail some of my stuff back home–travel guides, maps and maybe some clothes for filler. Then I would go back and visit the museum.

The plan worked out quite well. This morning it was really overcast and there were even a few drops of rain as I walked to the post office and then back to the museum. There were even a few drops of rain–not enough to get wet. That was good because I had left my rain jacket and umbrella back in the hotel. The museum is built around a court yard. It was obvious looking out onto the courtyard that it was raining hard while I was in the museum.

Getting into the museum was something of a problem. It seems that their computer at the ticket window went down just after I had paid for the ticket, but before they printed it. The ticket lady couldn’t get it started and went to get her supervisor. They rebooted Windows (XP, I think) but still couldn’t get into their program. Pretty soon they were on the phone talking to support (in India?). They made some moves that suggested to me that there was a network problem of some sort. Eventually they apparently got to the point where they had a login to their software. Then the ticket lady had to go get that secret piece of paper with the login and password. And finally I got in.

I noticed one thing I had never noticed about Discobolos (The Discus Thrower). The museum has two of them–one is ancient (I assume) and the other a reconstructed copy that we usually see. There are a number of things missing from the ancient–the head, the discus and a few other bits and pieces. (Scholars say that the head on the reproductions is screwed on wrong.) But what I noticed is that the toes of the right foot of the athlete are oddly positioned with the tops of the toes dragging on the ground. Much of the right foot of the original are missing, so I don’t know whether it had that feature or not.

I also missed a lot of the Roman rooms from a villa on the other side of the Tiber that had been partly reconstructed on the top floor. This was the home of someone who was very, very rich. The floors are mosaics, the walls frescos and the ceiling bas relief. Many of the frescos show scenes, people and animals. Birds seem to be a favorite. All very delicately done. They often appear to be pastels–although that may be the consequence of a couple of millennia. Other colors are often quite vivid though. The Romans were not adverse to bright colors.

One of the larger rooms on the top floor contains frescos which adorned Livia’s dining room. These are all pastoral. But they are also done in such a way as the colors change with the changing light of day. The Museum has attempted lighting to recreate the effect.

Today I tried a Roman pizza. I must say, I was not impressed. I much prefer Alfredo’s in Dallas.

I spent more time in the museum than I had the first time and saw some parts I had missed.