FLORENCE, ITALY – Two of Italy’s most iconic archaeological treasures have been returned to public display after a controversial restoration process that drew national attention. The 2,500-year-old Riace Bronzes are in a renovated Reggio Calabria National Archeological Museum following four years of restoration work stalled.
The bronzes were discovered in 1972 by a Roman holiday-maker scuba diving off the Calabrian coast and turned out to be one of Italy’s most important archaeological finds in the last 100 years. Their trip across town to the regional council office for storage was supposed to be a brief one. When they left the Archaeological Museum on December 22, 2009, Calabria’s archaeological superintendent, Simonetta Bonomi, said it was “just for a six-month restoration”.
The move was the first time in 28 years that the priceless 2,500-year-old bronzes had left the Museo Nazionale di Reggio Calabria. The only previous occasion they were let out was in 1981, for a triumphant round-Italy tour, which sold out venues in Rome, Florence and Milan
During the four-year renovation, the bronzes were stored, lying on their backs, in the offices of the Calabrian regional government, a situation that had been denounced by the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO as “a disgrace”.
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