Gladiator Mosaic

Not to be confused with the "Mosaic of the Gladiators" from the Villa Dar Buc Ammera near Leptis Magna.
Detail of the Gladiator Mosaic.

The Gladiator Mosaic is a famous set of 5 large mosaics of gladiators and venators and two smaller ones. The mosaics are dated to the first half of the 4th century[1] and are now installed in the Salone of the Galleria Borghese in Rome.[2] They were discovered in 1834 on the Borghese estate at Torrenova, on the Via Casilina outside Rome.[3] Prince Francesco Borghese Aldobrandini requested the excavations be completed.[4] It is believed to have decorated a cryptoporticus of an inner peristylum for a large domus.[5] The mosaics were removed from excavations and restored by Gaetano Ruspi and Filippo Scaccia in 1839.[4] These panels reinvigorated the Borghese Collection after it had shrunk following the sale of much of the collection to Napoleon I.[6]

  1. ^ Rocchetti, Luigi (1961). "Il mosaico con scene d'arena al Museo Borghese". Rivista dell'Istituto Nazionale d'Archeologia e Storia dell'arte: 111.
  2. ^ Coliva, Anna; Fiore, Kristina; Moreno, Paolo (2004). The Borghese Gallery. Milan: Touring Club Italy. p. 60. ISBN 8836519466.
  3. ^ Canina, L. (1834). "Scavi all'Agro Romano". Bullettino dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica: 134–136.
  4. ^ a b Ciccarello, Giulia. "Mosaico Pavimentale con Gladiatori e Cacciatori". Collezione Galleria Borghese. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. ^ Ciccarello, Giulia. "Mosaico Pavimentale con Gladiatori e Cacciatori Panel 4". Collezione Galleria Borghese. Galleria Borghese. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  6. ^ Coliva, Anna; Fiore, Kristina; Moreno, Paolo (2004). The Borghese Gallery. Milan: Touring Club Italy. p. 13. ISBN 8836519466.