Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

Overview

Located aggressively right next to Termini Station, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is arguably one of the greatest, highly curated, and fiercely overlooked ancient art museums in the world. As the premier branch of the National Roman Museum, it houses Rome’s absolute finest, mind-bending classical frescoes and bronze statues.

Highlights

• The Boxer at Rest: A jaw-dropping, deeply emotional, spectacularly preserved 4th-century BC massive Hellenistic bronze statue depicting heavily a deeply exhausted, brutally battered, fiercely bleeding (represented by brilliant copper inlay) fighter.
• The Garden of Livia: Entirely relocated to the top floor, this is an absolute masterpiece—a completely immersive, 360-degree violently lush, deeply detailed fresco of a massive blooming orchard recovered entirely intact from the underground dining room of Emperor Augustus's wife.
• The Discus Thrower (Discobolus): The museum houses one of the absolutely best, fiercely famous ancient Roman marble copies of the wildly iconic Greek athletic statue.

History

The massive, highly austere, deeply elegant 19th-century palazzo was originally fiercely built directly over the massive ruins of the Baths of Diocletian specifically to act as an intensely prestigious Jesuit college. In 1981, the Italian state aggressively bought it to securely consolidate its widely scattered, deeply massively impressive classical collections.

Visitor Tips

• Pacing: It is beautifully, completely empty most of the time compared to the fiercely chaotic Vatican, allowing you to deeply quietly sit heavily alone in a room completely surrounded by 2,000-year-old brilliant frescoes.