The Consulate General of Italy in Munich and the Italian Cultural Institute present, from 11 May to 25 September, the most important archaeological exhibition on the ancient Samnite people ever held.
The exhibition project, curated by the Staatliche Antikensammlungen / State Collections of Classical Antiquities, aims to provide a broad overview of the history, art and culture of the ancient Samnium.
Thanks to the rich loans especially from the collections of Benevento (the Arcos Museum and the Samnium Museum), Montesarchio (the Samnium Caudino Archaeological Museum) and Campobasso (the Samnite Museum Casino Calvitti di Larino) but also of Alfedena, Melfi, Naples, Rome and the British Museum, the Samnite culture can be appreciated in a complete exhibition for the first time outside Italy .
A people devoted to sheep farming, the Samnites came to the fore in history due to the rivalry with Rome , which with alternating events (including the famous episode of the “Caudine Forks”) ended up incorporating them into its sphere of influence.
The exhibition highlights the distinctive features of a warlike people who managed to preserve their cultural independence for a long time despite the growing influence of the Romans.
The exhibits on display also testify the belonging of Samnite culture’s belonging to the Hellenistic koiné of Greek influence , developed in central Italy starting from the classical period (5th and 4th centuries BC) and common to the Romans themselves and to other Italic peoples such as the Etruscans, the Umbrians and the Sabines.
More information at iicmonaco.esteri.it
