Round Hall
Pio Clementino Museum
Vatican City
Rome Italy
2016


Round Hall
The construction of this large hall with a hemispherical vault imitating that of the Pantheon was completed in 1779 according to a project of Michelangelo Simonetti. The walls carry a series of niches for displaying colossal statues, between which are half-columns which support outsize busts. The floor is an amazing 18th century assemblage of mosaics from the first decades of the 3rd century A.D. which were found at Otricoli and at Sacrofano. At the centre of the room is a huge red porphyry basin which has a circumference of 13 metres. The basin must once have embellished one of the large public spaces of imperial Rome.


I was originally drawn to this sculpture by its size and placement of prominence: it was one of a few sculptures which were of a similar size and make, each in their own apse. Upon reading the description I realized it was Juno and was surprised, as her character is portrayed quite differently here than it was in the reading of the Aeneid. In fact, this sculpture was created some 200 years after the Aeneid had been written. Her depiction in the Aeneid is quite emotional and weak; she never seems to be in control of herself. In contrast, here she seems quite stoic and completely in control of the spear and the shield that she is holding. Because it is speculated that this sculpture once resided in a temple devoted to her, it would make sense that she would not be depicted negatively as she was in the Aeneid. She is queen of the gods and sister-wife to Jupiter, and therefore has many facets to her personality, most of which are the female equivalent of Jupiter. As such she resides over marriage and birth but also has several other roles and different surnames for each. In this case, she is depicted as “Juno Sospita,” or in English “Juno Savior.” She is portrayed as a warrior by both the goat skin she is wearing over her head and the spear and shield she is holding. There is also a serpent at her feet, the meaning of which is still under discussion by scholars. Some say it is because there was a serpent kept and nourished in her temple, others say it is because there was a grotto nearby her temple where a serpent was worshipped, and yet others suggests that serpents themselves represented safety and health to ancient people. The last theory would make the most sense, considering safety and health are realms which Juno supposedly had control over.

https://meetingmyths.wordpress.com/jess-1/

Juno Sospita was seen as protectress of the Roman State, and thus would be worshipped according to the need of the people in this area. This, once again, is the exact opposite of how she was portrayed in the Aeneid. If she had not been so, the Aeneid would not have been a compelling story because nothing would have kept Aeneas from getting to Italy and forming his people. She was perpetually attempting to kill or at least slow down Aeneas and his crew in order to foil their attempts to be a prosperous people, and yet 200 years later she is depicted as the protectress of the state she originally set out to destroy. Although this strength as a protectress and queen is what originally drew me to the sculpture, upon further investigation I realize that it is much more complicated than that. It would seem that the ancient Romans saw their gods much like they saw humans, with changing personalities and emotions and widely varied realms of control. Juno therefore could act upon her emotions in one setting, and act upon control over her emotions in another, and ancient peoples would see no problem with this. Although this view is normal and expected in relation to our peers, it becomes confusing and intriguing when applied to gods and goddesses who are supposed to be higher than the realm of humanity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(mythology)

Juno was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology and a goddess of love and marriage. A daughter of Saturn, she was the sister and wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Bellona and Juventas. Like Hera, her sacred animal was the peacock. Her Etruscan counterpart was Uni, and she was said to also watch over the women of Rome. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called Regina ("Queen") and was a member of the Capitoline Triad (Juno Capitolina), centered on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, and also including Jupiter, and Minerva, goddess of wisdom.

Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She was often shown armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, who bore a goatskin, or a goatskin shield, called the aegis. Juno was also shown wearing a diadem.



Pio Clementino Museum
The nucleus of the pontifical collections of classical sculpture dates back to the original collection of pope Julius II (1503-1513) which was housed in the Cortile delle Statue (today the Octagonal Court). During the second half of the 18th century the pontifical collections were enormously expanded both as a result of excavations being carried out in Rome and Lazio, and by donations from collectors and antiquaries. The influence of Enlightenment thinking resulted in the inauguration of a museum in the modern sense, open to the public and explicitly charged with the task of safeguarding antique works of art, and promoting the study and understanding of them. The Museum is called Pio Clementino after the two popes who oversaw its foundation, Clement XIV Ganganelli (1769-1774) and Pius VI Braschi (1775-1799). The museum fills several large exhibition halls which were obtained by adapting pre-existing rooms with new constructions both within and adjacent to the small Belvedere Palace of Innocent VIII (1484-92). Antique sculpture was brought here and ancient roman pieces have often had their missing parts completely restored. The neo-classical architecture was realised under the direction of Alessandro Dori, Michelangelo Simonetti, and Giuseppe Camporese and embellished by the work of a large number of painters and decorators.
With the Treaty of Tolentino (1797) the Papal States were forced to give up the principal masterpieces in the Museum to Napoleon and they were transported to Paris. Much later, following the defeat of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna (1815), and thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Antonio Canova, the greater part of the works were recovered.