Domenico Venuti e gli scavi borbonici di Minturno
In: Studi e Ricerche del Parco Archeologico di Pompei: 43, 2020
DOI: 10.48255/1201
In March 1787 Marquis Domenico Venuti, Director of Excavations in the Kingdom of Naples, obtained permission from the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV to start a private campaign of archaeological research in the area near the mouth of River Garigliano, where the ruins of ancient city of Minturnae rose up.
The excavations were carried out in the place known by the name of Virilasci, which can be identified in the area close to the amphitheatre, where previously fortuitous discoveries of antiquities had occurred.
In the first months of work several valuable materials came to light including statues, reliefs, inscriptions and architectural fragments. Some of the most remarkable sculptures – two cuirassed statues, a Winged Victory and perhaps a statue of Venus – were entrusted to the hands of expert restorers, such as Carlo Albacini and Angelo Brunelli, who, in those years, worked in the service of the Bourbon king on restoration of the Farnese marbles.
The artworks coming from Minturno aroused the interest of some well-known English collectors, willing to pay very high sums for the purchase of the statues, and were the cause of serious disagreements between Marquis Venuti and King Ferdinand.