In the Italian capital, the Museo Barracco, which specializes in ancient sculptural art, is one of eight city-run museums. The museum’s collection, acquired by collector Giovanni Barracco, encompasses works from ancient Rome, Etruria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.
As a wealthy baron who never married and had no heir, Barracco donated his collection to the city in 1904, and continued to collect ancient statues, ceramics, and mosaics for the museum until his death. He also installed the first heating system within a museum in Italy, making the visitor experience that much more comfortable.
Later, the museum was relocated to the Palazzo della Farnesina ai Baullari, an elegant Renaissance building established in the early 1530s. The museum stands on the site of a Roman domus, though no remains are visible.
Some of the collection highlights include a marble copy of the Wounded Bitch by famed Greek sculptor Lysippus, a polychrome Cypriot statue of a parade float, a granite portrait of a young Ramses II, a Phoenician lion, and Assyrian reliefs.
