From 5 December 2025 the exhibition “ Memorie sommerse: i bronzi del Ponte di Valentiniano ”, an exhibition project curated by Federica Rinaldi and Agnese Pergola, opens to the public. It returns to public view a group of extraordinary bronzes linked to the decoration of the Roman bridge, today better known as Ponte Sisto. The materials, which resurfaced in 1878 during work on the banks of the Tiber and were for a long time kept in the Museum's storerooms, become visible and accessible again thanks to a thorough programme of restoration and study that has allowed them to be placed in a new and complete context. The exhibition aims to enhance a little-known heritage of great importance for reconstructing the monumental topography of Rome.
The decision to bring these finds back into the gallery is part of the Museum's broader strategy to reactivate access to works kept in the storerooms, including on the occasion of prestigious loans such as the Niobid and the Peplophoros from the Museum, both Greek originals of the 4th century BC, lent for the exhibition “La Grecia a Roma” at the Musei Capitolini – Villa Caffarelli. The reorganisation of the display thus makes it possible to present to the public masterpieces that are less well known but of great historical and artistic value.
The monographic exhibition presents three works: a diademed male head, a statue of a togatus in gilded bronze, and a right wing of Victory. The display is enriched by a video which, with the narration of Silvia Orlandi, lecturer in Latin epigraphy at the Sapienza University of Rome, illustrates the large marble dedicatory inscription of Valentinian and his brother Valens, and the monumental inscription carved in travertine that adorned the exterior of the bridge, designed specifically to be read by those navigating the Tiber. The inscription is preserved in the Michelangelo Cloister at the Baths of Diocletian. The exhibition will be accompanied by a scientific publication already in preparation with the publisher Quasar, which will explore all aspects related to the discovery, the iconography, the reconstruction of the places of origin, and the restoration of the materials, offering a comprehensive view of an extraordinary sculptural group.
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