MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto
MArTA in Taranto is a museum of South Italy and Magna Graecia. It shows the history of Taras, a Greek city in Italy, its contacts, elites, funerary practices and later Roman phase.
The museum expands the Italian group beyond Rome, Vesuvius and Etruria. It shows Greek Italy, pottery, gold, funerary assemblages and the transition from Greek urban culture to Roman control.
MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto: Museo archeologico nazionale di Taranto - MArTA.Collection and Historical Context
MArTA should not be reduced to beautiful gold or vases. The more important issue is how a Greek colonial tradition lived in Italy and changed through contact with neighbours and Rome.
Work with this museum requires three levels to be kept separate: display, catalogue and archaeological context. The display shows the object's form and scale, the catalogue clarifies date, material, inventory number and collection history, while context explains whether the object came from a house, cemetery, sanctuary, fort, workshop or urban monument.
A single famous exhibit is not always typical. Series are more reliable: several vessels of one type, a group of inscriptions, a funerary assemblage, repeated military fittings or several related sculptural solutions. MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto should therefore be read not only through its most famous objects, but through the links between galleries, collections and findspots.
Display and Main Materials
South Italian pottery, gold jewellery, funerary finds, terracottas, sculpture, coins and elite material from Taras deserve attention. The link between objects, cemeteries and local identity is especially important.
In the museum display it is important to look not only at individual masterpieces but at the neighbourhood of objects: sculpture, inscriptions, pottery, coins, architectural fragments and everyday items often explain one another better than an isolated photograph.
Portrait of Augustus "Capite velato" in Museo archeologico nazionale (Taranto). Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Taranto - MArTA - Sedia in terracotta policroma. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Bust of Boy in Museum of Taranto. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.Related Topics
- Museums of Antiquity
- National Archaeological Museum of Naples
- National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia
- Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum
- Roman Archaeological Sources
Official Pages and Catalogues
Bust of man in Museum of Taranto. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Statuette di donne in trono, 350-325 a.C. Museo Archeologico di Taranto -FG. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Eros e Psiche, terracotta policroma, primi decenni del III sec. a.C. Da Egnazia -FG4. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Figura femminile in terracotta policroma, inizi del III sec. a.C. -FG2. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Acrobata, terracotta policroma, 320-300 a.C. -FG1. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Erote in terracotta policroma, seconda metà del II sec. a.C. -FG. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Bronze statue of Zeus. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Acrobata, terracotta policroma, 320-300 a.C. -FG2. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Busti di donna in terracotta policroma, primi decenni del III sec. a.C. Da Egnazia -FG. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Nike, terracotta policroma, seconda metà del IV sec. a.C. -FG. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Statuette di donna in terracotta policroma, primi decenni del III sec. a.C. Da Egnazia -FG7. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Kore, 525-500 a.C. -FG. Object from the collection: MArTA: National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
