Terracotta lovers still in tender embrace after 2,500 years

world
Terracotta Lovers Still In Tender Embrace After 2,500 Years
The terracotta Sarcophagus Of The Spouses is displayed (Domenico Stinellis/AP), © AP/Press Association Images
Share this article

By Associated Press Reporter

A pair of terracotta lovers caught in a tender embrace for 2,500 years are getting some Valentine’s Day TLC from Italian cultural officials.

One of the most famous lovers’ statues in the art world, the reclining spouses fashioned out of terracotta are being offered high-tech protection from the threat of earthquakes and lesser tremors from passing traffic outside, officials said Monday as they unveiled the 18-month project.

Advertisement

The Sarcophagus Of The Spouses, made by an unknown artisan, is actually an urn constructed to hold the remains of the deceased.


The terracotta work is displayed in Rome’s National Etruscan Museum (Domenico Stinellis/AP)
The terracotta work is displayed in Rome’s National Etruscan Museum (Domenico Stinellis/AP)

It is a top attraction at the National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia.

Advertisement

“The sarcophagus is threatened on a daily basis by the vibrations produced by the tramway and the railway Rome-Viterbo,” said Valentino Nizzo, the museum’s director.

The 18-month project includes the construction of an anti-seismic platform for the sarcophagus that will help reduce vibration that threaten it.

The sarcophagus, dating to the sixth century BC, was discovered in 1881 in a necropolis in Cerveteri, a former Etruscan settlement near Rome.

It was reconstructed from approximately 400 terracotta fragments.

Advertisement

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com