Loading: Following in Trajan’s Footsteps
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Bust of Trajan
Forum of Trajan
Trajan's Column
Bust of Nerva
Bust of Trajan
Statue in armour with the head of Trajan
Pseudo-antique portrait of Trajan
Bust of Hadrian
Statue of a woman with head of Marcia (?)
Female statue with the head of Ulpia Marciana
Female statue with the head of Salonina Matidia
Sabines
Statue of a Dacian, Pileatus
Statue of a Dacian, Capillatus
Statue of a Dacian, Capillatus

Following in Trajan’s Footsteps

A virtual exhibition on the precious relics and unique items from the reign of Trajan present in the Uffizi collections

This itinerary, inspired by the celebrations to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of Trajan’s  death, is relevant again today, since it coincides with the opening of a new exhibition, “Building a Masterpiece: Trajan’s Column”, that will be held inside the Limonaia at Boboli Gardens from 21/06/2019 to 06/10/2019.

Trajan and Florence. This may seem like an unusual pairing, but there is a profound link that joins Trajan to the city. One that has lasted for centuries. In the 13th century, Dante included a Christian elaboration of Trajan’s story in his Divine Comedy, as interpreted in the post-classical age (Dante, Purgatorio X, 73-96; Paradiso XX, 43-48 and 106-117). The fourteenth-century frescoes in the Bardi Chapel inside the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella contain a cycle of paintings dedicated to St Gregory the Great and re-evoking legends linked to the figure of Trajan. Several centuries later, prestigious marbles, recovered from ancient Roman monuments, became part of the collections of antiquities belonging to the Medici, especially those acquired by Ferdinando I, which joined the decorative sculptures in Villa Medici on the Pincio Hill before being moved to the Florentine properties of the Grand Duchy at the end of the 18th century.

The selected works being showcased in this HyperVision aim to be a natural continuation of the exhibition, giving visitors the possibility of recognising the precious relics and unique items from the reign of Trajan, which can be found in each museum of the Uffizi Galleries. From the Loggia dei Lanzi, to the Gallery of Statues and Paintings and then to the Boboli Gardens and the Palatine Gallery, the remains from Trajan's Forum in the state collections of Florence offer a selection of exceptional sculpted masterpieces, in terms of both number and quality, that are rarely equalled even in Rome.

 

Bibliography

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Credits:

Texts by Manola Giachi and Fabrizio Paolucci

Translation by Eurotrad snc.

Editing by Lorenzo Cosentino, Maria Anna Petricelli, Patrizia Naldini - Dipartimento di Informatica e Strategie Digitali

Photos by Francesco del Vecchio e Roberto Palermo (Dipartimento Fotografico)

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