A place where archaeology and industry meet in a timeless dimension.
The Centrale Montemartini is an extraordinary example of industrial archaeology converted into a museum. Rome’s first public power plant, named after Giovanni Montemartini, it is today the second exhibition centre of the Capitoline Museums. It’s amazing how this plant has become a museum “almost by accident”.
In 1997, as a result of a renovation of the Capitoline Museums, the former Power Plant, which boasted ample space, was chosen as a temporary exhibition site for part of the historic collections. Thus, hundreds of archaeological finds were transferred to the new complex and, for the occasion, an exhibition was opened focusing on the dialogue between classical and industrial archaeology.
Once the works were completed in the Campidoglio museum, not all the works were returned there and this is how the Centrale Montemartini became a permanent museum.
When you enter, you have the impression of being in “another” dimension, where old engines and steam turbines form the backdrop to masterpieces of classical sculpture. Do not miss the cycle of statues that decorated the pediment of the temple of Apollo Sosiano, the thoughtful figure of the Polimnia muse, the colossal acrolith depicting the goddess Fortuna and the nineteenth century train of Pope Pius IX.
Centrale Montemartini – Via Ostiense, 106. Info: www.centralemontemartini.org