A North American tour of Roman sculptures from the Torlonia Collection—considered to be the finest group of Greco-Roman antiquities still in private hands—begins on 15 March at the Art Institute of Chicago, marking the first time these works have been shown outside of Europe.
The shows will feature 58 pieces from the Torlonia Collection, with works dating from around the fifth century BC to the early fourth century AD—although the majority of the sculptures are from the High Roman Empire period (first and second centuries AD). After Chicago, Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection will travel to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Carlotta Loverini Botta, the director of the Torlonia Foundation, which oversees the collection, says that the US leg enables further scholarly study of the vast collection. “The museums [are] not only contributing to the expenses of mounting the exhibition but also enabling further studies and examinations of works in the collection, including detailed scans of certain sculptures, that advance scholarship tied to the exhibition,” she says.
The so-called Maiden of Vulci (first century BC) is one of the exhibition’s star pieces Photo: Lorenzo De Masi, © Torlonia Foundation
The show is organised thematically in six sections, opening with “Icons of the Torlonia Collection”, featuring Portrait of a Young Woman, known as the Maiden of Vulci (first century BC). The next section, “Torlonia Excavations”, includes sculptures found on the Torlonia family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs, as well as pieces discovered on their estate in Porto, Portugal, such as Attic Votive Relief (fifth century BC).
The “Exceptional Restorations” section will include an Imperial era statue of a resting goat with a head later added by the Renaissance sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (around 1620). The final section, “Funerary Sculpture”, will present funerary monuments including “a number of exceptional sarcophagi, which are among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome”, the organisers say in a statement.
In 1875 Prince Alessandro Torlonia created a private museum on Rome’s Via della Lungara where 517 sculptures were housed, growing to over 620 works by 1884. Largely inaccessible after the Second World War, the collection was moved into three rooms of the building in the 1970s by a descendant, Alessandro Torlonia, who converted the palazzo into apartments without planning permission. After decades of negotiations with the state, the family formally agreed in 2016 to exhibit the works.
A Roman statue of a resting goat said to have been restored by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century Photo: Lorenzo De Masi, © Torlonia Foundation
In 2021, following a showing of the works in Rome, the Italian art historian Vittorio Sgarbi urged the Italian government to buy the collection, which he said was worth €250m. But this is yet to happen.
“The final goal of the foundation is to reopen the Torlonia Museum in Rome to the public permanently,” Loverini Botta says. “There has always been an ongoing dialogue between the Italian ministry of culture, the family and the foundation to determine the appropriate venue, which is still to be identified.”
The luxury jeweller Bulgari is funding the restoration of most of the Torlonia sculptures (25 works conserved as part of this project will be shown in the touring show). The next group of sculptures undergoing study and restoration with Bulgari’s support includes 120 busts. “Additionally, this year, the foundation is opening the newly reorganised spaces of the Laboratori Torlonia, where 622 sculptures are being carefully restored and will be accessible to scholars by appointment, Loverini Botta says.
A statue of Cupid and Psyche Photo: Lorenzo De Masi; © Torlonia Foundation
“The initial step in the restoration process is to assess the preservation state of each piece and determine the necessary interventions, all in accordance with modern preventive conservation principles. This ensures that the natural patina of the sculptures, which reflects their history and the passage of time, is carefully maintained,” she adds.
The recent show Masterpieces from the Torlonia Collection at the Musée du Louvre in Paris (closed 6 January), which included around 70 works from the collection, was one of the museum’s most visited exhibitions with 739,000 visitors, according to Loverini Botta.
Speaking to The Collector magazine, the Art Institute of Chicago curator Katharine A. Raff praised the importrance of the collection coming to her institution, saying that it “is really on a par with the collections of major public museums in Europe, especially in Rome and museums like the Capitoline and the Vatican Museums”.
• Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 15 March-29 June; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 14 September-25 January 2026; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 14 March 2026-19 July 2026
