From December 6th to January 31st 2016, the National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia will host some important exhibits from the National Bardo Museum in Tunis, atrociously hit by fundamentalist terror on 18th March this year. On the initiative of Fondazione Aquileia, with the collaboration of the General Direction for Archaeology and the Polo museale del Friuli Venezia Giulia, and the National Institute Heritage of Tunisia, The Bardo Museum in Aquileia will be inaugurated on Saturday, 5th December at 6 pm.
The exhibits will be set alongside the artefacts of Aquileia, not only to highlight the close links and relations between Northern Africa and the Northern Adriatic Sea back in Roman times, when the whole Mediterranean Sea used to facilitate the circulation of different civilizations and religions, but also to speak out a strong opposition to the current revival of horrible iconoclasm that is attempting to eradicate cross-cultural and cross-religious dialogue.
«Aquileia, a UNESCO World Heritage site – explains Debora Serracchiani, the President of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia – is one of the treasures of our region. This exhibition and the connection with the Bardo Museum in Tunis revive the notions of cross-cultural coexistence, exchange and respect that the Roman city of Aquileia embodied in the past. This way, their universal value is strongly reaffirmed against the destructive bent of fundamentalism»
«We deem it useful and rightful today to call attention to these remarkable finds in consideration of what is happening around – underlines Antonio Zanardi Landi, the President of Fondazione Aquileia. Hence, the idea for this exhibition, which is part of a wider project named Wounded Archaeology whereby Fondazione Aquileia, in collaboration with the General Direction for Archaeology and the Polo museale del Friuli Venezia Giulia, intends to host in Aquileia every six months some meaningful works of art from the museums and sites hit by the dramatic attacks of fundamentalist terror».
The works on display, dating back to the period between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, offer an insight into the arts and fine craftsmanship of the African provinces in Ancient Roman times: the mosaic of goddess Ceres from Uthina; two mosaics of “naked wrestlers” from the tepidarium of Gigthis spas; the head of Emperor Lucius Verus from Dougga; the statue of god Jupiter from Oued R’mel; the funerary stele of Marcus Licinius Fidelis, a soldier native from Lyon, in the Gaules, buried in Ammaedara; two pottery pieces from the necropolis of El Aouja, and namely a jug decorated in relief and a cylindrical container with depictions of gods and satyrs.
The city of Aquileia (witness to the peaceful coexistence between Romans, Jews, Greeks and Alexandrians), listed as Unesco World Heritage since 1998, represents for its own history the ideal place to state the universal values of coexistence and exchange and to start a dialogue about the importance of protecting cultural heritage against obscurantism and barbarism.
For all the reasons above, the project received strong support by the Italian Minister for Cultural Heritage, Mr. Dario Franceschini; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Paolo Gentiloni; the Governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Ms. Debora Serracchiani, and was heartily welcomed by the Tunisian Minister for Culture, Ms. Latifa Lakhdhar; the Director of the National Heritage Institute of Tunisia, Mr. Nabil Kallala; the Director of the Bardo Museum, Mr. Moncef Ben Moussa.
The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Chamber of Trade Industry Crafts and Farming of Udine, Edison and with the sponsorship by Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Fiumicello e Aiello.
INFORMATION
Duration: 6th December 2015 > 31st January2016 EXTENDED until 28th February 2016
Location: National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia, Via Roma 1, 33051 - Aquileia (UD)
Opening times: Tuesdays to Sundays, from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm
Ticket prices (entrance to the museum, including the exhibition): full price: € 4,00; reduced price: € 2,00
