"The recovery of classical antiquity in Andalusia” closes after resounding public success

February 26, 2009

More than 25,000 people have already visited the Hospital de los Venerables to see “The Recovery of Classical Antiquity in Andalusia”, an exhibition that ends on Saturday 28 February. The display brings together the most important Roman works discovered in Andalusia to date, which have come from the leading museums in Spain and abroad including the Museo del Prado, the various national Archaeological Museums, the Hispanic Society of America, the Metropolitan in New York and the Saint Germain Museum in Paris.

This exhibition has become a unique opportunity to view master works of Andalusian Roman sculpture such as the Venus of Ancient Italy, the Efebo de Antequera or the Relief of the Battle of Actium – a spectacular, three-metre long white marble frieze that has never been shown in public before. Other important pieces include the Ganymede of the Alhambra, the Muse Urania or the set of reliefs called The Warriors of Osuna, brought from Paris.

But the exhibition also brings together paintings and objects, as well as sculptures and mosaics, which pay tribute to the discoverers, scholars, archaeologists and lovers of Roman culture from the past five centuries of the history of Andalusia. Historical figures such as the clergyman Benito Arias Montano, the Hispanists Archer M. Huntington (founder of the Hispanic Society) and George Bonsor, or the collectors of antiquity art such as Sebastián Martínez or Regla Manjón, Countess of Lebrija.

There are a total of 150 pieces including sculptures, portraits, maps and diverse objects that are carefully displayed in various rooms, in which the lighting and the position of the pieces play an important role. The audio guides and the various information panels clearly explain this fascinating process of recovery and evaluation of Roman culture in the history of Andalusia.

Recovery of Roman Andalusia

The Focus-Abengoa Foundation continues to develop the Recovery of Roman Andalusia project, an important initiative that attempts to recover and evaluate Andalusia’s Roman history.

In addition to this exhibition, which closes in February, the first of three volumes on “Art of Roman Andalusia” has been published, the most exhaustive study of Roman art and culture to date. The third phase is the launch of the “De la Tierra al Sol” (From the land to the sun) project, which includes all of the archaeological and landscape research that has been carried out in the area around Abengoa’s solar platform in Sanlúcar la Mayor (Seville). This plan comprises the following future actions:

• A series of publications that include the conclusions on the exploratory work carried out in the area and the study by numerous specialists of the changes and the succession of landscapes that have shaped the area from historical beginnings through to today.
• A documentary that presents the chronology of man’s past and the changes in the natural history of this part of Andalusia.
• A permanent exhibition space in the area where the remains are located, planned for autumn 2009.

“The Recovery of Classical Antiquity in Andalusia” exhibition

Focus-Abengoa Foundation

Hospital de los Venerables, Plaza de los Venerables s/n. Seville.

Opening hours: Every day from 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 20.00.

Until 28 February.

Prices: General: €4.75. Reduced: €2.40

Visitor information line: 95 456 26 96

For more press information:

Pilar Azcárraga

91 576 52 50

pazcarraga@estudiodecomunicacion.com