Rome, the future Torlonia Museum at Palazzo Silvestri-Rivaldi?
The most prestigious private collection of ancient sculptures in the world finally find a home in the Renaissance palace in the heart of Rome at the Fori Imperiali: enhancement agreement signed by the Ministry of Culture and the Lazio Region
It is still all hypothetical and in progress, but some tables have been fixed. We are talking about the future Torlonia Museum – to the most prestigious private collection of ancient sculptures in the world – which could become a reality and be housed in the headquarters of Palazzo Silvestri – Rivaldi in Rome after the end of its restoration, expected by the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee (at least a major project for the 2025 Jubilee, even if the times seem really too tight), thanks to the enhancement agreement just signed between the Minister of Culture , Dario Franceschini, and the President of the Lazio Region, Nicola Zingaretti.
ENHANCEMENT AGREEMENT: THE WORDS OF DARIO FRANCESCHINI
“The agreement that we sign today with the Lazio Region and the ASP ISMA initiates the recovery of an extraordinary place with enormous potential, in the heart of Rome at the Imperial Forums which, unfortunately, was in a state of neglect. The Ministry of Culture will make 40 million euros available for the restoration of the building”, Declares the Minister. “It is also right to give a time schedule and set the goal of finishing the works and reopening Palazzo Silvestri-Rivaldi by the beginning of the Jubilee of 2025. This enchanting place could be the most suitable venue for size, beauty and position to host the collection. Torlonia, the wonderful series of ancient marbles that unfortunately has not been visible for decades but which, after an agreement of the Ministry with the heirs of the Torlonia family, has allowed, in recent months, an exhibition that the whole world has talked about. Together with the heirs we will try to find an agreement to enhance the palace and the collection even more. This path was not possible “, Franceschini concludes, “The extraordinary nature of the place offers many different and suggestive alternatives“.
ENHANCEMENT AGREEMENT: THE WORDS OF NICOLA ZINGARETTI
This is an agreement for the renovation, re-functionalization and in fact the recovery for public use of Palazzo Silvestri – Rivaldi, now in a state of disuse and abandonment for many years and the subject of a long dispute that finally, thanks to the initiative joint between the Ministry and the Region, it will be returned to the community. “The agreement we are signing is yet another demonstration of how important loyal collaboration between different levels of the state is to produce useful results for our community. For decades we have been discussing this place, this building, this property and finally thanks to the confrontation that has started, today we really turn the page.”, The President of the Lazio Region intervenes. “The outcome of this enhancement agreement will be in one of the probably most beautiful places on planet Earth where a level of historical, archaeological and environmental heritage is concentrated that has no equal. I want to thank the ASP ISMA, the Ministry and the regional offices because finally there will be an indispensable turning point now to make the big leap in quality. Today is a beautiful day for Rome and given the place we are talking about it is a beautiful day for Italy “, continues Zingaretti. “Rome is preparing for the Great Jubilee of 2025 in four years, we absolutely must host it so that among the novelties that Rome will offer to the world there will also be Palazzo Rivaldi. Thanks to those who have put their passion to achieve this banal result that has finally come to a halfway point“.
WHAT THE RESTRUCTURING AND ENHANCEMENT AGREEMENT PROVIDES FOR
The real estate complex is now owned by the Personal Services Company “ISMA – Institutes of Santa Maria in Aquiro”: from the Renaissance period, located in the archaeological area of the city of Rome, it extends over three of the most famous streets in the center of Capital: Via del Colosseo, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Via del Tempio della Pace. The object of the agreement is therefore the enhancement of the real estate that the Lazio Region undertakes to acquire through the use of resources from the Development and Cohesion Fund, within a period of six months and in any case upon availability of the resources, following allocation of availability of resources by the CIPESS with a specific resolution, for a total amount of 25 million euros. Its mission will be to urbanistically regenerate the complex, finalizing it to the socio-welfare and socio-health needs of the area. The Ministry of Culture, on the other hand, undertakes to take care of the conservative restoration and functional recovery of the entire building complex, which includes the medieval palace, two annexed areas from different eras, the archaeological excavations, the courtyards, the seventeenth-century fountains and the ” lateral stecca ”to be used as the seat of the Heritage School Foundation. Conservative restorations therefore, no contemporary intervention in sight apparently. And maybe that’s a shame.
PALAZZO SILVESTRI-RIVALDI: BOTH CULTURAL AND SOCIAL POLES
Finally, the last step of the agreement provides for the collaboration between the two entities in planning initiatives, events and projects of different nature, as well as a feasibility and sustainability study of the management of the real estate complex. “This agreement captures two important results, both cultural and social: the extraordinary complex of Palazzo Silvestri-Rivaldi comes back to life and is returned to Rome and the world but at the same time the ISMA company with part of the receipts will be able to redevelop the complex of real estate resources Via di Val Cannuta, also abandoned for years, which will become a large center of 6000 square meters of personal services“, to conclude Enrico Gasbarra, President of ISMA and former President of the Province of Rome – Institutes of Santa Maria in Aquiro. “I thank Minister Franceschini, President Zingaretti and the entire ISMA Board: with the work of all, in just two years, we have achieved this extraordinary result“.
– Claudia Giraud