The exhibition "Under the sign of Capricorn. Painting in the age of Hadrian," at Villa Adriana (until March 30, 2025), investigates the state of the art of mural painting from the Hadrianic period (117-138 AD) through the pictorial decorations of the Tiburtine archaeological complex, following a path that winds through evidence still in situ and elements emerging from the latest archaeological research from the Villa's deposits.

In the Mouseia rooms, some of the over five hundred pictorial fragments are exhibited, whose discovery in the area of the so-called "Palestra" has allowed the addition of an important piece of knowledge on the little-investigated theme of painting at Villa Adriana. To enrich the exhibition path, the frescoes from the area of the so-called Macchiozzo are presented for the first time after a delicate restoration. Furthermore, on the occasion of the exhibition, it is possible to visit the usually closed areas to the public of the western substructures of Canopus, where the vaults are decorated with polychrome frescoes featuring plant compositions and zoomorphic motifs, which inspire the title of the exhibition. In the same areas, some detached mural paintings from the 1970s are displayed, taken from the decoration of the barrel vault of the Serapeum.

Organized by the Autonomous Institute of Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este - VILLÆ and curated by Director Andrea Bruciati with Veronica Fondi, restorer and curator of the Institute, the exhibition focuses on the latest precious discoveries of painted plasters, for the first time in dialogue with the most well-known pictorial testimonies of the Tiburtine complex still in situ.