A unique exhibition-event in Romania, "The Fragility of the Eternal: From Pompeii to the Grand Tour to Today", dedicated to valuable works of art that have been lost or damaged in major disasters, will open at the end of November at the Timisoara National Art Museum (MNArT), announced on Tuesday Alfred Simonis, president of the Timis County Council, the institution that funds the project.
The exhibition will take visitors on a unique narrative journey, guided by the voice of a virtual character inspired by an archaeological inscription on a commemorative altar attesting to the presence in Dacia of a survivor of the Vesuvius eruption.
Starting from Pompeii, the city lost to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and spanning the Grand Tour to the present day, the exhibition offers an exceptional curatorial vision, with over 100 works on display at MNArT, including frescoes, paintings, sculptures, graphic art, and rare artefacts from major Italian museums.
The international-scale project will bring fragments of history to the public, witnesses of a city that vanished suddenly in 79 AD yet continues to fascinate the world. It offers a rare opportunity to gradually enter the atmosphere of a Roman city frozen in time, brought back to life through art and history.
The Timisoara National Art Museum thus marks another major event, following its international recognition during Timisoara's year as European Capital of Culture in 2023, when it brought home Brancusi, along with exhibitions dedicated to Victor Brauner and Paul Neagu, followed by "The Lights of Caravaggio: The Dawn of Modernity in European Painting, Masterpieces from the Roberto Longhi Collection" in 2024.
"This unique exhibition in Romania explores one of the most fascinating subjects of universal ancient history: Pompeii, the city lost under Vesuvius' ash. Pompeii has become a fundamental symbol for modernity: its physical impermanence gave rise to a permanence of style, echoing across Europe through the Grand Tour. Pompeii thus becomes the archetype of art's triumph over catastrophe and destruction, of survival. The exhibition, realised in collaboration with the prestigious Italian institution Civita Mostre e Musei, explores the impact of cataclysms on civilisations, from the ancient tragedy of Pompeii to the ways this event has inspired European art and culture from the Grand Tour to contemporary times," explained Filip Petcu, general curator and manager of the Timisoara National Art Museum.
At the Baroque Palace, the public will be able to admire over 100 heritage pieces - frescoes, paintings, sculptures, graphic art, photography, and rare artefacts - from major Italian museums, including: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli; Certosa e Museo di San Martino - Napoli; Museo Nazionale della Ceramica Duca di Martina in Villa Floridiana - Napoli; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea - Rome; Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte - Napoli; Galleria Lia Rumma Milano - Napoli; Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo - Rome.
"Reunited in an exceptional visual and curatorial narrative, the exhibits reconstruct the cultural life of a prosperous, cosmopolitan, and dynamic Roman city, captured at the moment of the catastrophe that temporarily halted its destiny, yet paradoxically preserved it for eternity as a cultural effigy and archetype of survival and continuity through art," Filip Petcu emphasised.
The exhibition "The Fragility of the Eternal: From Pompeii to the Grand Tour to Today" will be open from 28 November 2025 to 29 March 2026.
Scientific curatorship is provided by Professor Massimo Osanna, Director General of Museums in Italy, alongside general curator Filip A. Petcu, manager of the Timisoara National Art Museum. The project is supported by the Presidency of the Culture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament and the Embassy of Romania in Italy.
The exhibition also anticipates the strategic programme "Romania-Italy Cultural Year 2026", launching on 1 December in Rome, marking a new chapter in cultural dialogue between the two countries.
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