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Curated by: Eva Degl’Innocenti,Lorenzo Mancini, Simona Rafanelli
The show
The exhibition season of the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto - MARTA is enriched with an exhibition that correlates two giants of ancient Italy: the Spartan colony of Taras-Taranto and Vatl-Vetulonia, the famous city of the Etruscan Dodecapolis. The two protagonists of the Mediterranean are at the center of a cultural event - curated by Eva Degl'Innocenti (director of the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto) and Simona Rafanelli (director of the Civic Archaeological Museum of Vetulonia) divided into two exhibitions (one at the Civic Museum Archaeological Museum of Vetulonia, the other at the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto) and an international conference to be held in Taranto from 17 to 19 November 2021. In addition to witnessing the fruitful collaboration between the two archaeological museums, the project is an expression of the desire to establish a solid interaction between distinct territorial realities through the intertwined dialogue between two ancient civilizations, the Magna Graecia and the Etruscan, historically projected into the Mediterranean basin. A unique event, declined in three acts: the exhibition in Vetulonia which was inaugurated in mid-June, the exhibition at MArTA and the international conference dedicated to the relationship between Magna Grecia and Etruria to be held in Taranto from 17 to 19 November 2021. " Taras and Vatl. Protagonists of the Mediterranean in comparison. Archeology of Vetulonia in Taranto "- curated by Eva Degl'Innocenti and Lorenzo Mancini (MArTA official archaeologist), in collaboration with Simona Rafanelli - is the title of the exhibition that from next 23 July to 9 January 2022 at the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto will make visitors discover the relationship between the two ancient cities of Taranto and Vetulonia, whose destinies, since the origins of their mythhistory and in the symbolic imagery of figurative art, are closely linked to the sea. The first nucleus of the Taranto exhibition is the presentation of the tumulus of Poggio Pelliccia, a monumental funerary complex built in the territory of Vetulonia. For the first time, a 1: 1 scale reconstruction of the room and a large part of the access dromos (corridor) is proposed. The choice is justified by the variety of objects placed in the tomb which, although heavily sacked, has returned sufficient materials to understand the level of well-being achieved by the local elites between the Orientalizing and the Classical ages (Vll-V century BC). The second section illustrates the funerary customs and material culture of Taranto in the same chronological horizon in which the tomb of Poggio Pelliccia was used. Through the display of some kits of the urban necropolises, coming from the deposits of the Museum, it will be possible to appreciate the breadth of the network of cultural and commercial relations that belonged to the Spartan colony, involving the centers of the Mediterranean that, in the same years, maintained relationships with Etruria. It is the first time that a full-scale 1: 1 reconstruction of a monumental funerary complex of this type is offered to public use. Through the dromos - corridor - of access, the visitor arrives at the burial chamber of the tholos tomb where he discovers the extraordinary finds coming from the site of the territory of Vetulonia - explains the director of the MArTA, Eva Degl'Innocenti - A door of time we have rebuilt, thanks to the art and papier-mâché technique of artists and craftsmen of Putignano and Massafra, also enhancing this important heritage of the Apulian territory. The sea unites and tells the objects on display in the exhibition, including finds from Asia Minor and the Aegean islands, narrating the profound affinities between the two important civilizations, starting with the artistic craftsmanship of the goldsmith production to which it also refers the Taranto exhibition. Next to the section dedicated to Vetulonia, there are testimonies from Taranto and the important local goldsmith tradition also told in the Peuceto site of Ruvo di Puglia. In fact, it will also be possible to admire the finds related to the relationship between the ancient Spartan colony and the indigenous peoples of Puglia and a miniature reconstruction of the Great Greek burial of a child, with funerary costumes and grave goods referable to the same chronological horizon of the site of Poggio Pelliccia . The exhibition “Taras and Vatl. Protagonists of the Mediterranean in comparison. Archeology of Vetulonia in Taranto ”will be open from 23 July 2021 to 9 January 2022. Admission to the exhibition is included in the admission ticket to the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto. Info and reservations on www.shopmuseomarta.it
