Encountering the thermo-mineral spring of Bagno Grande in the design of the exhibition at the Archaeological National Museum of Naples
Massimo Osanna, Jacopo Tabolli
Abstract
1 | The new display of the Sacred Spring (photo by G. Malizia and C. Bonanni).
After the conclusion of the exhibition at Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome the design of the new display at the Archaeological National Museum of Naples, in the synergy between the continuation of the excavation at Bagno Grande of San Casciano dei Bagni and the conservation of the bronze and organic artefacts, has significantly enhanced the previous concept (see Osanna, Tabolli 2023; Tabolli 2023). During fieldwork in the summer of 2023, a travertine donarium with a rare bilingual Etruscan and Latin inscription mentioning the “hot spring” was discovered in this sanctuary, which seems to have been reused in a later wall (Tabolli 2024; Tabolli forthcoming; Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2024). The inscription reads “[fon]s caldus – flere havens”, and probably dates from the first half of the 1st century AD Although there is no data to confirm what the three holes located on the upper surface of the donarium, with traces of lead inside, held up in antiquity (and we hope that the continuation of the excavation will provide new data to understand this artefact), the role of the hot water within the ‘context’ of the excavation and associated research (Tabolli 2023a), is therefore once again stressed by the bilingual inscription.
As we have already outlined in the exhibition at Palazzo del Quirinale, the consistent presence of multilingual communities among the thermo-mineral spring, especially between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD was exemplified by the encounter between visitors and two different bronzes both referring to the hot spring. The female deity of Havens, dating from the 2nd century BC (see Papini 2023; for the inscription Maggiani 2023) was associated in the display with the naked man, probably healed after an illness Marcius Grabillus, dating to the beginning of the 1st century AD (Papini 2023; for the inscription Gregori 2023). The first statue represents the Spring itself, as its Etruscan inscription specifies in the dedication, while the second one refers to the hot spring via its Latin text engraved on the right leg. These two small statues represented at Quirinale the sacred concept of the shrine and were therefore isolated in the first room, following the experience of the lightning bolt, which symbolically referred to the ritual of the fulgur conditum (Tabolli 2023b).
2 | Apollo in the new display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (photo by G. Malizia and C. Bonanni).
3 | Study for Apollo and the last room of the new display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (designed by G. Malizia and C. Bonanni).
In the light of the discovery of the travertine donarium and of its inscription, we asked the architects of the exhibition, Gugliemo Malizia and Chiara Bonanni (Decima Casa studio associato) to rethink the first encounter with the sacred thermo-mineral spring. The scenographic apparatus in Naples was conceived to enhance the qualities of the finds and to evoke their context: water and its sacred sphere. It consisted in the creation of an environment isolated from the architectural context by a perimeter panelling in backlit glass panels and decorated with a mixture of chromatic tones, between light blue, green and sand. The sound, taken from a composition by William Basinski, enhanced the effect of isolation from the outside, disposed the visitor to meditation and enriched the sensorial experience. The newly renovated rooms in the Archaeological National Museum of Naples, allowed for a choral display in the space close to the bilingual inscription (Osanna, Tabolli 2024). The statues [Fig. 1] were no longer isolated in their surroundings, but were at this time associated with the ancient donors of the shrine, both male and female. The conclusion of conservation undertaken on the female statue in the act of offering, a masterpiece of the 2nd century BC (Papini 2024), allowed for a direct dialogue with the man in toga (Papini 2023). The result amplified the perception of the context, considering that the four bronzes were stratigraphically excavated in a small area of less than four metres, at the core of the sacred pool (see Mariotti 2023; Tabolli 2023c).
The final room of the exhibition also underwent major transformations. Reflecting the central role of the hot spring, the statue of Apollo played the leading role as the fulcrum of the space [Figs. 2, 3]. Visitors firstly discovered the link between deities and medicine at the shrine. Actual references to medical knowledge were exemplified by the polivisceral plates and a surgical gouge found in the votive deposit. We broke down the separation of the display of ex votos, and enlarged the space [Fig. 4]. The bronze ex votos and coins on two sides of this space allowed for the visitor to understand that despite the passage of time, between the 3rd century BC and the late 4th century AD, bronze was the most relevant type of offering to the sacred thermal spring, regardless of its form.
4 | Final room of the exhibition at the new display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (photo by G. Malizia and C. Bonanni).
Bibliography
- Gregori 2023
G. Gregori, Iscrizioni latine su votivi in bronzo: divinità, devoti, formulari, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 195-203. - Mariotti, Tabolli, Salvi 2023
E. Mariotti, J. Tabolli, A. Salvi (a cura di), Il Santuario ritrovato 2. Dentro la vasca sacra. Rapporto preliminare di scavo al Bagno Grande di San Casciano dei Bagni, Livorno 2023. - Maggiani 2023
A. Maggiani, Le iscrizioni etrusche su votivi di bronzo. La divinità e i suoi devoti, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 181-193. - Mariotti 2023
E. Mariotti, Il Bagno Grande nelle campagne di scavo 2021 e 2022, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 29-47. - Mariotti, Carpentiero 2023
E. Mariotti, G. Carpentiero, Dal sottosuolo agli elevati: l’architettura del santuario, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 49-61. - Osanna, Tabolli 2024
M. Osanna, J. Tabolli (a cura di), Gli dei ritornano. I bronzi di San Casciano, Catalogo della mostra (Napoli 2024), Roma 2024. - Pacifici 2023
M. Pacifici, Per grazia ricevuta. Il sistema degli ex voto anatomici in metallo, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 205-221. - Papini 2023
M. Papini, Immagini di divinità e devoti in bronzo, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 117-135. - Papini 2024
M. Papini, Statue of a woman in the act of praying, in Osanna, Tabolli 2024, 156-157. - Pardini 2023
G. Pardini, Le offerte di moneta nella vasca. Questioni preliminari e prospettive di ricerca, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 255-267. - Tabolli 2023
J. Tabolli, Digging into a Display. The ‘Voices’ of the Bronzes from San Casciano dei Bagni, “La Rivista di Engramma” 204 (luglio/agosto 2023), 175-191. - Tabolli 2023a
J. Tabolli, The Etrusco-Roman thermo-mineral sactuary of Bagno Grande at San Casciano dei Bagni (Siena): aims and perspectives ‘behind-the-scenes’ of ongoing multidisciplinary research project, “FOLDER-it” 556 (2023). - Tabolli 2023b
J. Tabolli, Tra divinazione e medicina termale, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 235-247. - Tabolli 2023c
J. Tabolli, Dentro la vasca sacra, in Mariotti, Salvi, Tabolli 2023, 101-115. - Tabolli 2024
J. Tabolli, Un donario e un’iscrizione bilingue, in Osanna, Tabolli 2024, 157-158. - Tabolli forthcoming
J, Tabolli, AGER CLUSINUS: San Casciano dei Bagni, “Studi Etruschi” 87, in pubblicazione.
This paper presents an overview on the exhibition “Gli dei ritornano. I bronzi di San Casciano” on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (February/June 2024). The two main themes of the exhibition are the sacred thermal baths (both in Etruscan and Latin script and represented by various bronze statues) and Apollo. Visitors perceive the sacred space around the spring through an 'immersion' in the display. Details of the design by G. Malizia and C. Bonanno are also presented.
keywords | MANN; San Casciano dei Bagni; Bronze; Immersive Display.
questo numero di Engramma è a invito: la revisione dei saggi è stata affidata al comitato editoriale e all'international advisory board della rivista
Per citare questo articolo / To cite this article: M. Osanna, J. Tabolli, Encountering the thermo-mineral spring of Bagno Grande in the design of the exhibition at the Archaeological National Museum of Naples, “La Rivista di Engramma” n. 214, luglio 2024