Antico giardino romano replica di Ercole da Pompeo

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“Ancient Roman garden replica of Hercules from Pompey”…

This statue among ancient ruins is probably a 15th or 16th century stone replica I accidently stumbled upon in a Roman garden of the very famous bronze statue of Heracles with club, lion skin and golden apples. The original statue was found neatly buried under tiles with the inscription “FCS” (“fulgor conditum summanium”), indicating that it was struck by lightning then buried on the spot. The priceless statue is Gilt bronze Roman artwork of the 2nd century AD, and located in the Vatican museum. This image is probably the most unusual of my Italian journey and every bit an accidental surprise. Upon leaving the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, I decided to walk just over a mile to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. The street Via Merulana was lined with attractive 5-6 story apartment homes. Not sure if I was heading in the right direction, I walked into a bottom floor parking garage seeking help, and found an elderly Italian woman sitting in a garden opposite the street. As I walked through the garage to the other side, shockingly I noticed the garden had ancient ruins around the edges with replicas of famous statues as center pieces. It was as if I’d been transported back to ancient times, and the juxtaposition of the 100 year old newer building seemed aberrant, yet I remembered I was in the Eternal City where civilizations were stacked atop each other for almost 3000 years. The elderly Italian woman assured me I was heading in the right direction and allowed me a few minutes to photograph the ancient ruins. She smiled and waved as I left and exclaimed, “Buon Viaggio!” as I walked away. Her wish for me was “Have a nice trip!” in Italian.

Copyright: Dino Carbetta
Image Size: 5719x4329 / 141.7MB
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Contained in galleries: Portfolio Parte II

“Ancient Roman garden replica of Hercules from Pompey”…<br />
<br />
This statue among ancient ruins is probably a 15th or 16th century stone replica I accidently stumbled upon in a Roman garden of the very famous bronze statue of Heracles with club, lion skin and golden apples. The original statue was found neatly buried under tiles with the inscription “FCS” (“fulgor conditum summanium”), indicating that it was struck by lightning then buried on the spot. The priceless statue is Gilt bronze Roman artwork of the 2nd century AD, and located in the Vatican museum. This image is probably the most unusual of my Italian journey and every bit an accidental surprise. Upon leaving the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, I decided to walk just over a mile to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. The street Via Merulana was lined with attractive 5-6 story apartment homes. Not sure if I was heading in the right direction, I walked into a bottom floor parking garage seeking help, and found an elderly Italian woman sitting in a garden opposite the street. As I walked through the garage to the other side, shockingly I noticed the garden had ancient ruins around the edges with replicas of famous statues as center pieces. It was as if I’d been transported back to ancient times, and the juxtaposition of the 100 year old newer building seemed aberrant, yet I remembered I was in the Eternal City where civilizations were stacked atop each other for almost 3000 years. The elderly Italian woman assured me I was heading in the right direction and allowed me a few minutes to photograph the ancient ruins. She smiled and waved as I left and exclaimed, “Buon Viaggio!” as I walked away. Her wish for me was “Have a nice trip!” in Italian.

dino carbetta