From 26 january 2008
One thousand years of history represented by nearly two thousand works (1700, exactly) which will be collected in an exhibition-catalogue composed of 750 pages and weighing 4 kilos which, on request, can be sent home. The items, exhibited along 3000 square metres, will come from institutions spread all over the world and include extraordinary works of art such as the 24 carat gold bust of Marco Aurelio, weighing about kg 1,6, coming from Avenches in Switzerland, or the Sarcophagus Ludovisi from Palazzo in Rome, the  Sarcophagus of Portinaccio which is made of white marble and represents a clash between the Romans and the Barbarians, the Amalasunta from Florence, the Missorium called ‘’Achilles’ or Scipio’s Plate’ as well as the Cameo called ‘of Licinio’s triumph’.
These are only some of the works of Rome and the Barbarians, namely a colossal and new exhibition presented yesterday at the Palazzo Farnese in Rome and ready to make its own debut on 26th January. Far from being a stereotyped event related to the textbook image of the hairy savage that subdues a millennial culture, such exhibition represents a unique opportunity for knowing a part of history belonging not only to our country but also to the whole continent, the knowledge of which has been prohibited to us for a long time, after being hidden by endless revisionisms. It seems clear that Rome and the Barbarians represents a continuity with the great and magnificent exhibitions of the Palazzo Grassi which took place during the Fiat era; moreover it strikes for its astonishing topical character as it reminds us of the clash among civilizations in which at present we are living.