Thirty-three feet long, the Codex Borgia records historical, ritual, mythological, and botanical information.
Location City: Rome
This cloth—first woven by a wise spider—sends social messages through a system of specific patterns.
Kente cloth
Rome’s pagan and Christian pasts merge at San Clemente, where a mosaic advertises the power of the Western Church.
The Basilica of San Clemente, Rome
That hoof, that sword—everything is so close! This chapel gives us a privileged view of a private conversion.
Caravaggio, The Conversion of St. Paul (or ...
This ancient map served as an administrative tool for one of the largest empires in history.
Severan marble plan (Forma Urbis Romae)
An earthquake buried this early Roman church. Recent excavations exposed layers of wall painting.
Santa Maria Antiqua
Even in death, great Roman families were concerned with reinforcing and projecting their status.
Tomb of the Scipios and the sarcophagus ...
This three-in-one temple to “Jupiter Best and Greatest,” Juno, and Minerva was central in ancient Roman religion.
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Rome
Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, emerges from her bath, but what did her nudity mean to the Greeks?
Capitoline Venus (copy of the Aphrodite of ...
Is this delicate female portrait what we think? Take part in a discussion of a masterpiece we know little about.
Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman (Fonseca ...
Abandoned as infants, the mythical founders of Rome were raised by a she-wolf.
Capitoline She-wolf
Napoleon’s sister courted controversy and posed semi-nude for Canova, who sculpted her as a modern-day Venus.
Antonio Canova, Paolina Borghese as Venus Victorious
Below Rome’s streets lie shelves of tombs. Buried among the dead are early examples of Christian art.
Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
The emperor Titus sacked the temple in Jerusalem and looted its most holy treasures.
The Spoils of Jerusalem, Arch of Titus
Whose side are you on? Two great philosophers of antiquity, Plato and Aristotle, face off in this meeting of minds.
Raphael, School of Athens
Once identified as the founder of the Roman Republic, debate over this figure’s true identity rages on.
Capitoline Brutus
Built using new technologies, this building is overwhelming and unprecedented—displaying Roman imperial power.
Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
Ancient Greek athletes cleaned themselves with oil. This sculpture shows one athlete’s bathing ritual.
Lysippos, Apoxyomenos (Scraper)
The Pantheon has one of the most perfect interior spaces ever constructed—and it’s been copied ever since.
The Pantheon (Rome)
Monumental figures like these apostles hadn’t been seen since ancient Rome. What sensitivity to rhythm and color!