Episodi

  • 20 - Awe and Wonder

    20 - Awe and Wonder
    Jun 4 2025
    As the journey of “Beyond the Marble” concludes, it’s worth returning to the theme of love.
    Not the sublime and idealized love of Sappho, but a more cynical, unscrupulous Eros, as portrayed by Ovid. For the Roman poet, love isn’t a bolt from the blue; it’s a strategic game, an art to master, filled with tricks and deceptions.
    To explore this love, we must discuss Jupiter and his transformations. In particular, the myth of Jupiter turned into a swan to seduce Leda—a story as alluring as it is controversial—will be examined through the sculpture of Leda and the Swan, a remarkable work that embodies the drama and eroticism of this ancient legend.
    It is a tale that continues to challenge our beliefs and spark our imagination.
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    11 min
  • 19 - The Wandering Path

    19 - The Wandering Path
    Jun 4 2025
    A silence lasting centuries breaks in this episode of “Beyond the Marble”, as the voice of the marble worker Quintus Julius Miletus reaches us from a distant past.
    Sculpted on a funerary altar in the Portico of the Galleria Borghese, his epitaph tells the story of a man who came to Rome to witness grand games and live off his art.
    But his words offer more than a daily account: they refer to the "labyrinth," a universal symbol of challenges and deceptions, urging us to reflect on life's journey, its uncertainties, and its mysteries.
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    14 min
  • 18 - The Stuff of Dreams in the House of Dreams

    18 - The Stuff of Dreams in the House of Dreams
    May 29 2025
    The Galleria Borghese is a realm suspended between dream and reality.
    In this episode, the two Sleeping Nymphs of the Portico will lead us into the enigmatic world of dreams in antiquity—full of messages, omens of the future, and warnings from gods and the souls of the departed.
    We will uncover the power of Asclepius, the god of medicine who could heal the sick through his night visits, and encounter other mysterious beings that inhabit the border between dreams and reality.
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    16 min
  • 17 - A Little Toxic Love

    17 - A Little Toxic Love
    May 29 2025
    In the Egyptian Room, a small sculpture captivates and disturbs: Attis, the young god whose tragic story intertwines with the goddess Cybele, the Great Mother.
    This tale weaves together absolute love, pain, and madness, inviting us to reflect on how we cope with suffering today.
    A myth that reveals an intense yet incomprehensible relationship with pain, a far cry from our modern experience.
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    15 min
  • 16 - Knossos-Rome-Paris

    16 - Knossos-Rome-Paris
    May 22 2025
    A ritual that would change everything: King Minos of Crete offers a gesture to Poseidon, foreshadowing a legendary catastrophe.
    In an act of seemingly innocent devotion, the tyrant breaks a sacred pact, unleashing a series of irreversible events driven by his insatiable thirst for power.
    The relief in the Galleria Borghese that captures this moment serves as a warning: nothing is ever as it seems, and sometimes our fate rests solely in our hands.
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    16 min
  • 15 - Amongst the Waves

    15 - Amongst the Waves
    May 22 2025
    The Satyr riding a Dolphin, an enigmatic sculpture in the Egyptian Room, blends ancient allure with Renaissance fantasy.
    This exceptional piece depicts a young satyr riding a dolphin at water’s edge, seems to have inspired many great artists.
    But what truly lies behind this surprising and whimsical image?
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    16 min
  • 12 - Piecing Together Infinity

    12 - Piecing Together Infinity
    May 8 2025
    The sea, with its timeless mystery, has always intrigued and challenged us.
    In the Galleria Borghese, among the Roman mosaics of the Egyptian Room, the sea takes shape in the faces of its ancient deities.
    There’s Oceanus, the old father of all waters, guardian of life and its secrets. Then there’s Nereus, the god of calm waters and safe harbors, symbolizing hope and new beginnings, inviting us to explore the unknown.
    But that’s not all: amidst the waves, a Nereid, a beautiful nymph, emerges from the unfathomable depths to calm the stormy seas and guide sailors to safety.
    Yet after immersing ourselves in this sea of stories and deities, how do we find our way?
    The answer may be right above us: just look up, and the vault of the Egyptian Room might show us the way.
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    13 min
  • 11 - The Fairest Thing

    11 - The Fairest Thing
    May 8 2025
    What do we mean when we talk about love?
    We refer to something elusive that can never be fully defined. In antiquity, love took the sensual form of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and desire.
    Among the sculptures in Room I of Galleria Borghese, one stands out: a magnificent head of Aphrodite, reminiscent of Sappho, the poetess who sang about love like no other.
    For Sappho, Eros is an overwhelming feeling that shakes the soul, often accompanied by pain.
    Yet, as the poetess teaches us, love remains, despite everything, the most beautiful experience we can have.
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    16 min