50 years ago, two classical period bronze statues came to light. To this day they are a mystery and fascinate with their incomparable beauty
Antiquities Authority of Calabria, August 17, 1972, Protocol Number 2232: “Two nude male figures in dark, brown color, excellently preserved, perfectly formed.”
THE chemist Stefano Mariotini vacationed in Calabria, near the 130 km of the Italian National Highway, on the Ionian coast. The dive he made on the afternoon of August 17, 1972 went down in history. By chance, he found two statues from the 5th century BC, the time of Pheidias, on the seabed, Andreas Rossman reports in an extensive tribute in the cultural insert of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
“Only five bronze statues have survived from the classical period of ancient Greek art: the Hiniochus of Delphi, the Poseidon from the Cape of Artemisium, the Horseman of Artemisium – their dating varies from the 5th to the 1st century BC – the Hellenistic Prince and the Boxer of Thermes”. To these were added the statues “Riace A” and “Riace B”, as they were called, representing a young, vigorous man and an older and more flabby one. It is assumed that it is “for warriors, athletes, gladiators or the Dioscuri”.
Symbol of Italian cultural heritage
The two statues of rare aesthetics they have since become symbols of Italy’s cultural heritage, surpassing even examples of Renaissance sculpture. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of their discovery, a number of events, exhibitions and scientific conferences are organized throughout Italy.
Massimo Osana from the Directorate of Museums of the Italian Ministry of Culture explains to FAZ how important this discovery was for one more reason: it brought archeology closer to the general public. Literally. The two impressive statues that together weighed about 400 kilograms emerged from the bottom of the Ionian Sea with a kind of underwater parachute, in front of the eyes of locals and tourists who rushed to the beach of Calabria. “The world was suddenly enchanted by the beauty of the bronze statues,” says Daniele Castrizio, professor of Archeology at the University of Messina.
Since then the two statues have been transferred to Reggio di Calabria (Regio of Calabria) for conservation, their “first aid” was offered to the National Archaeological Museum of Greater Greece. From there they were taken to Florence for more thorough restoration. They went through a special chemical treatment to protect against corrosion. Their true composition was also revealed there. The two statues were made in different plaster molds, while more materials were used for the details: silver, calcite, copper.
Enthusiasm for archaeology
The first exhibition of the Warriors of Riace was inaugurated on December 15, 1980. It was planned for only three weeks, there was no advertising, no posters, no catalogue, only a sketchy “bureaucratic” presentation. But the enthusiasm of the Italian public was so great that that first exhibition lasted six months. Word of mouth spread and the result was huge queues outside the Archaeological Museum in Reggio di Calabria.
Half a million visitors rushed to that first presentation, scandalously sketchy in relation to the importance of the archaeological treasure. After the much-lauded exhibition, they were transferred to the Kirinalio Megaro on the initiative of the former Italian president Pedro Sandro Pertini. Today they are again in the Archaeological Museum of Great Greece in Reggio di Calabria.
DW / Editor: Dimitra Kyranoudis
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