Vatican City, Italy (Enclave of Rome): Vatican Museums: Chiaramonti Museum: New Wing: Augustus of Prima Porta
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This statue, "Augustus of Prima Porta," is one of the most famous sculptures of the ancient world. It is held within the collection of the New Wing of the Chiaramonti Museum. This museum is part of the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums are public galleries that display about 20,000 of 70K works collected by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. The museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. Only the Louvre in France receives more annual visitors than the Vatican Museums. The museums consist of 24 galleries, with the Sistine Chapel being the last room visited. The Chiaramonti is named after Pope Pius VII, who was born Barnaba Chiaramonti, and founded it in the 19th century. The New Wing was added in 1822. Another part of the Chiaramonti, the lapidary gallery, contains over 3000 tablets and stone inscriptions, but is only open to scholars on request. Augustus was the first Roman emperor and was ruling when Christ was born (27 BCE to 14 CE). He came to power upon the death of Julius Caesar and overhauled every aspect of Roman life, bringing peace and prosperity. Augustus is one of the major figures of Classical antiquity. The statue of him was created by a group of skilled Greek sculptors in marble, probably copying a lost bronze piece displayed in Rome, and was discovered in 1863 at the site of a Prima Porta villa owned by Augustus' third wife, Livia Drusilla.
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CC BY-NC-SA 4.0