The inscription (1938) is carved in Roman square capitals on the stringcourse of the façade of the Palatine Museum, which houses the archaeological artifacts discovered during the excavations on the Palatine Hill. Its author is unknown.

The text is straightforward and unpretentious, yet it is notable for its use of three different dating formulas. The first formula dates the opening of the museum from the foundation of the City (traditionally 753 BCE), which took place on the Palatine Hill, according to ancient historians and archaeological evidence. The second formula references the date in relation to the birth of Christ, while the third aligns it with the Fascist era, starting on 28 October 1922. Each of these dating formulas evokes one of the three eras of Rome’s history: the first Rome, the ancient city of the Caesars; the second Rome, the Christian city of the popes; and the third Rome, the Italian and, in the ventennio, Fascist city, as the regime claimed to fulfill the promise of the Risorgimento and Italy’s unification.

The museum was established thanks to the archaeologist Alfonso Bartoli (1874–1957) in the convent of the Nuns of the Visitation, built in 1868, which was converted to host the museum (Tomei 2014: 14). Over the entrance, an imperial eagle with the Savoy coat of arms carrying fasces in its claws is represented in a bas-relief.

It is plausible that Alfonso Bartoli also authored the text; however, there is currently no evidence to support this claim.

Bibliography

Maria Antonietta Tomei. 2014. ‘Il Museo Palatino rinnovato per il bimillenario augusteo’. In: Museo Palatino. Le collezioni, edited by Carlo Gasparri and Maria Antonietta Tomei, 11-23. Milan: Electa.

Antonino Nastasi