Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Palazzo Nuovo is crammed to its elegant 17th- century rafters with classical Roman sculp-
ture, including some unforgettable show-stoppers.
From the lobby, where the curly-bearded
Mars
stares ferociously at everyone who passes
by, stairs lead up to the main galleries. The first hall you come to, at the head of the stairs,
is the
Sala del Galata
. This is where you'll find one of the museums' greatest works - the
Galata Morente (Dying Gaul). A Roman copy of a 3rd-century-BC Greek original, this
sublime sculpture movingly captures the quiet, resigned anguish of a dying French warri-
or. The next room, the
Sala del Fauno
, takes its name from the red marble statue of a faun.
Another superb figurative piece is the sensual yet demure portrayal of the Venere Capito-
lina (Capitoline Venus) in the
Gabinetto della Venere
, off the main corridor.
Also worth a look are the busts of philosophers, poets and orators in the
Sala dei Filosofi
-
look out for likenesses of Homer, Pythagoras, Socrates and Cicero.
