World – From Magna Graecia to Argentina: it is the journey made by a precious selection of finds from National Archaeological Museum of Taranto, from December 7 on display at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires in an initiative that combines scientific research and cultural diplomacy. Curated by Eva Degl’Innocenti and Lorenzo Mancini, respectively director and archaeologist officer of MArTA, Treasures of the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto. Greeks and other ancient civilizations of Southern Italy retraces the adventure of Taras, a thriving Magna Graecia colony that someone has called “the Paris of the ancient world” for its ability to shape fashions and customs destined to go beyond the borders of its territory. In short, it is no coincidence that the MArTA is among the most important archaeological museums in Italy and the first in the world as regards the Magna Graecia period: from the end of the nineteenth century, when the excavations for the construction of the new city brought in the light of an impressive quantity of valuable finds, the heritage of the Archaeological Museum of Taranto has grown steadily, incorporating testimonies of the different peoples settled in Puglia in antiquity.

Ministerio de Cultura de la Nacion. “Treasures of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Taranto. Griegos y otras civilizaciones antiguas del Sur de Italia”. Photos Kaloian / Ministerio de Cultura de la Nacion

At the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes the Argentine and international public, including a not negligible portion of descendants of emigrants from Southern Italy, will be able to return to the origins of Mediterranean civilizations in an itinerary through time that goes from the eighth to the second century BC In fact, the story of the exhibition begins shortly before the foundation of the Spartan colony of Taras, the only Magna Graecia city in Puglia, to arrive at the Roman conquest in 209 BC, with which the ancient Taranto lost forever its independence to enter part of the civilization that would dominate the then known world for centuries to come. Finally, among the four sections of the exhibition, there is a chapter dedicated to the indigenous peoples who have long coexisted with the Greeks in the easternmost region of the Italian peninsula.

Ministerio de Cultura de la Nacion. “Treasures of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Taranto. Griegos y otras civilizaciones antiguas del Sur de Italia”. Photos Kaloian / Ministerio de Cultura de la Nacion

From the marvelous red-figure vases to luminous examples of sculpture, the exhibits on display have been selected by the curators on the basis of their evocative potential: with the ancestral strength of the symbolaillustrate the life of the Greek colony from mythology to figurative arts, from the organization of society to productive activities and funeral rites.

Made with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Buenos Aires, Treasures of the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto. Greeks and other ancient civilizations of Southern Italy will be open to the public at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in the Argentine capital until March 5, 2023.

Ministerio de Cultura de la Nacion. “Treasures of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Taranto. Griegos y otras civilizaciones antiguas del Sur de Italia”. Photos Kaloian / Ministerio de Cultura de la Nacion