Museo Nazionale Romano delle Terme, Rome


	Museo Nazionale Romano delle Terme (Terme National Roman Museum) Housed in a former Carthusian monastery, this extensive collection contains many inspiring pieces of Greek, Roman, and Christian sculpture and sarcophagi. The rooms incorporate some of the remaining walls of the Baths of Diocletian (from AD 305), which could accommodate 3,000 people. Michelangelo worked on the redesigning of the building; entirely of his inspiration is the perfectly square Great Cloister, with its 100 arches. Unfortunately, most of the museum is closed for ongoing renovations, but some of the masterpieces can be seen. Only a few rooms are actually open on the ground floor, but the first includes the Greek Ludovisi Throne (460 BC), magnificently carved with reliefs, the main one Aphrodite Rising from the Sea. Through this room are other Greek sculptures, including two exceptional marble copies of Myron's famous bronze Discus Thrower. Upstairs are the beautiful frescoes (c. AD 75) from Livia's villa at Primaporta. Scattered around the delightful Great Cloister are hundreds of other ancient sculptures. Address: Via Enrico De Nicola 79 Rome Italy Telephone: +39 (6) 488-0530