In Berlin the Bronzes of San Casciano, treasures from the mud

The San Casciano Bronzes are coming to Berlin. In their first outing from Italy after their success at the Quirinale Palace, and two stops at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples and the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, they will be arriving at the James-Simon-Galerie, on Museum Island, from 5 July to 12 October. The result of excavations conducted between 2022 and 2024 in the thermal sanctuary of Bagno Grande in San Casciano dei Bagni, the find has been defined by experts as one of the most significant in recent decades. Bronze statues and heads in an exceptional state of conservation, accompanied by thousands of coins, anatomical votive offerings and inscriptions in Etruscan and Latin and in two languages, provide a vivid glimpse of the religiosity and votive practices in a sacred place of antiquity, which remained active for ten centuries, and which played a particularly significant role in the period of transition between Etruscan and Roman culture. During the press conference to present the exhibition, the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli wanted to underline the choice of Berlin to pay homage to "Germany, which has been able to transform the scars of the past into living memory", but also out of "gratitude" in the name of an increasingly intense collaboration between the two countries in terms of cultural relations and the fight against trafficking of artifacts. Giuli recalled the restitution to Italy by the Prussian Cultural Foundation of a series of artifacts that had been excavated and recovered illegally and which had then become part of the Foundation's heritage. Opening his speech, he thanked the workers on the excavation site, thus paying homage to "the anonymous toil of working". What Massimo Osanna, General Director of the MIC Museums, defines as a "turning point for Italian and international archaeology" is probably one of the most interesting and fascinating discoveries of recent years. In San Casciano, an ancient sanctuary comes back to life, born around the 3rd century BC in Etruscan territory and frequented until the end of the 4th century AD by people who immersed themselves in the waters to draw benefits from them and donated votive offerings to the gods to implore their healing. What the excavation is bringing to light is a heritage "not only of Italy, but of humanity", Giuli underlined. Osanna also highlighted that this exhibition is richer than the previous ones because the excavations have in the meantime returned new finds. For the German Minister of Culture and Media, Wolfram Weimer, "the Bronzes of San Casciano dei Bagni bear witness to the high artistic capacity of an era of which very few remains remain. Their discovery constitutes an invaluable enrichment of the Italian cultural heritage and therefore of our common European heritage. Our utmost gratitude goes to all art lovers in Italy who care for and protect this treasure, as well as to the curators of the exhibition at the James-Simon-Galerie who with their dedication demonstrate once again: that art and culture, despite having their own particular origin, ultimately belong to all human beings, in spirit and heart". Professor Jacopo Tabolli, scientific coordinator of the excavation, gave a passionate speech: he remembered the personnel involved in the complex operations, starting with the students, but above all he conveyed the emotion connected to the fear of committing wrong operations that could have compromised the perfect recovery of the finds and, in particular, the possibility of deciphering their ritual function. Precisely on this last aspect, Osanna also underlined the novelty of the methodological approach of these excavations, marked by a "rigorous interdisciplinarity" that aims to bring out the full meaning of the objects found. The conference was closed by a speech by Martin Maischberger, vice director of the ancient collection of the Prussian Cultural Foundation, which made the exhibition possible. The exhibition itinerary is completed with works from the collection of classical antiquities of the Berlin Museums and with modern votives from the Museum Europäischer Kulturen in Dahlem, to create a dialogue between ancient and contemporary.