On 25 July, a new exhibition opens to the public at MArTA, exploring sport through archaeology and history from a perspective that embraces the entire Mediterranean.
“The Art of Victory. Athletes and Competitions in the Mediterranean” is part of the renewed interest in sport and Mediterranean culture surrounding the 20th Mediterranean Games, while also aiming to contribute to the forthcoming 65th International Conference on Magna Graecia Studies, dedicated to Games and athletics in Magna Graecia and the ancient Mediterranean.
The exhibition takes as its starting point one of the Museum’s most important archaeological testimonies: the Tomb of the Athlete, which preserves the remains of an unknown athlete who died in Taranto at the beginning of the 5th century BC and distinguished himself through victories at the games in Athens, as shown by the large Panathenaic amphorae displayed on the four sides of his monumental sarcophagus. The story of the Athlete is enriched by the results of new scientific analyses carried out in collaboration with the CNR – National Research Council of Italy and Sapienza University of Rome.
The exhibition also presents artefacts from the Museum’s storerooms connected with the world of athletics in ancient Taranto: significant evidence of ancient sporting practices and of an aristocratic ideal that aspired to a model of both physical and moral perfection.
Visitors can also discover contributions developed by museum professionals, directors and curators from four African countries, hosted at MArTA as part of the 4th edition of the International School of Cultural Heritage, a project promoted by the Italian Ministry of Culture – Directorate-General for European Affairs and launched by the National School of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
The exhibition, however, also looks to the present. In the Temporary Art area, the ancient world enters into an ideal dialogue with contemporary athletes and sporting heroes, including Erasmo Iacovone. A section of the exhibition, housed in the large glass display case in the Museum’s hall, is dedicated to sporting memorabilia — including trophies, personal belongings and sports equipment — belonging to Taranto athletes of the past and present, loaned to the Museum thanks to the generosity of the Associazione Triumphalia and the Panathlon Club Taranto Principato.
The display case also features examples of contemporary artistic creativity: painted tiles depicting silhouettes of athletes, used as frames by Nasse Animation Studio in the production of a short film inspired by the ancient Athlete; and an original work by artist Sal Velluto, a Marvel and DC Comics illustrator, portraying the celebrated Athlete of Taranto in an imaginative yet highly plausible reconstruction destined to become an iconic image.
The exhibition promotes a vision of sport as a bridge between different eras, inviting visitors to rediscover athletic endeavour not only as competition, but also as an opportunity for encounters between peoples and cultures in the name of peace.
