{"id":8680,"date":"2019-02-22T08:31:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T08:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/?p=8680"},"modified":"2019-05-15T17:02:48","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T15:02:48","slug":"the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/","title":{"rendered":"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mosaic of the Nile in Palestrina<\/strong>\u00a0is one of the greatest masterpieces of Hellenistic mosaic art. Of great visual impact, also for its size, every year it attracts thousands of tourists and scholars from all over the world. This artistic jewel located in the\u00a0Roman countryside<\/strong>\u00a0is visible at the\u00a0National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina<\/strong>, just a few kilometers from\u00a0Rome<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Day Trip near Rome: Palestrina<\/h2>\n

During the weekend, there is nothing better than to pay a visit to the many extraordinary places, to the enchanting\u00a0little villages<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Italy<\/strong>, where history and art have left evocative impressions. Recently my explorations took me to\u00a0Palestrina<\/strong>, a town in Lazio in the\u00a0countryside near Rome<\/strong>, which I strongly recommend as an ideal destination for a trip out of town or a stay to discover local treasures of art and culture.<\/p>\n

Preserved in the\u00a0National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Rome) you will find one of the absolute masterpieces of ancient art, which alone is worth the whole trip: the famous\u00a0Nile Mosaic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"archaeological-museum-palestrina\"
Palestrina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Set on the slopes of\u00a0Mount Ginestro<\/strong>, Palestrina rises on the site of\u00a0ancient\u00a0Praeneste<\/em><\/strong>, founded, according to legend, by\u00a0Telegonus<\/strong>, the legendary\u00a0son of Ulysses and the sorceress Circe<\/strong>. Here stood the great\u00a0sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia<\/strong>, the most imposing monument of the Republican era of Lazio and home to a famous\u00a0oracle<\/strong>\u00a0to whom linked to an important cult of worship.<\/p>\n

The sanctuary is divided into six terraces that descend along the slopes of the hill, in view of the sea. On the highest terrace of the sanctuary, known as the\u00a0Cortina terrace<\/strong>, and near the portico of the hemicycle, stands the austere\u00a0Palazzo Barberini<\/strong>, home to the\u00a0National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this beautiful seventeenth-century palace, archaeological materials from the excavation of the sanctuary and from the territory of\u00a0Praeneste<\/em>\u00a0are preserved. The visit is exciting especially if you think that to reach the museum and to climb up to the third floor, where the famous mosaic is preserved, you follow the same ramps of those who, centuries before, came to question the oracle.<\/p>\n

The Mosaic of the Nile<\/h2>\n
\"Nile
Nile mosaic in Palestrina near Rome<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0great Nilotic mosaic<\/strong>\u00a0is a noteworthy example of\u00a0Hellenistic mosaic art<\/strong>, one of the\u00a0most famous in the world<\/strong>\u00a0and still leaves visitors breathless for the refinement of the execution, the complexity of the composition, the polychromatic composition and the abundance of detail.<\/p>\n

The mosaic originally decorated the floor of the so-called apsidal hall, in the lower complex of the Sanctuary, in a rectangular area of uncertain destination, probably a nymphaeum or a place for the worship of the god\u00a0Serapis<\/strong>\u00a0or the\u00a0goddess Isis<\/strong>, which was widespread in Rome at the time.<\/p>\n

Even the\u00a0dating of the mosaic<\/strong>\u00a0is controversial: for some it dates back to the\u00a0first Century BC<\/strong>, for others to the time of\u00a0Augustus<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Hadrian<\/strong>, or even the\u00a0third Century BC<\/strong>. The most accredited, however, is the hypothesis according to which it derives from a\u00a0Hellenistic original<\/strong>\u00a0and was created by an Alexandrian artist at the end of the\u00a02nd century BC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Thus it bears witness to the close\u00a0relations between Rome and Egypt<\/strong>\u00a0and the influence of Hellenistic culture on Roman art.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0mosaic<\/strong>\u00a0represents\u00a0 a perspective view of the\u00a0territory of Egypt<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0course of the Nile River<\/strong>, from the sources on the Ethiopian mountains to the delta in the Mediterranean, during one of its floods.<\/p>\n

Egypt is a gift from the Nile, Herodotus wrote, because the river allows life in an otherwise arid and unhospitable land. For this reason, the Nile was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and revered as a deity.<\/p>\n

In the mosaic, the river is inserted in a\u00a0fantastic landscape<\/strong>\u00a0that goes from the\u00a0wild lands of Nubia<\/strong>\u00a0to the cities of lower Egypt<\/strong>, rich with temples and sumptuous palaces, and enriched with fascinating details.<\/p>\n

At the bottom, in the canal covered by a pergola, a banquet with convivial figures seems to be taking place: it is likely that it is the\u00a0Alexandrian Canopus<\/strong>, a place of delights near the famous\u00a0Serapeum<\/strong>, which should correspond to the temple represented directly to the right.<\/p>\n

In front of the latter there is a scene with warriors and a priestess, perhaps to be identified with the\u00a0goddess Isis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Higher on the right, instead, you can see a\u00a0sacred enclosure<\/strong>\u00a0with columns, towers and statues and on the left, near a building with obelisks, you can see a\u00a0hydrometer well<\/strong>, perhaps the famous one of\u00a0Syene<\/strong>, now Aswan, which was used by\u00a0Eratosthenes<\/strong>\u00a0to calculate the terrestrial meridian.<\/p>\n

Below on the right, there is the\u00a0Port of Alexandria<\/strong>, capital of the\u00a0kingdom of the Ptolemies<\/strong>, dominated by a large fortified structure that represents the royal palace.<\/p>\n

The uppermost area of \u200b\u200bthe work of art shows the rocky regions of the river cataracts and the desert regions of Nubia, populated by indigenous hunters and tropical animals, each with its name written in Greek.<\/p>\n

You could spend hours discovering new details and the many characteristic figures, isolated and in groups, that animate this extraordinary work.<\/p>\n

My advice is to admire the\u00a0Mosaic of the Nile<\/strong>\u00a0by hearing its story and its meanings as told by an expert, because in this way you can appreciate it even more, letting yourself be transported among the\u00a0myths and legends of ancient Rome<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mosaic of the Nile in Palestrina\u00a0is one of the greatest masterpieces of Hellenistic mosaic art. Of great visual impact, also for its size, every year it attracts thousands of tourists and scholars from all over the world. This artistic jewel located in the\u00a0Roman countryside\u00a0is visible at the\u00a0National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, just a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[94],"tags":[110],"yoast_head":"\nTHE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA - Where Else<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a masterpiece of Hellenistic mosaic art. It is visible at the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, near Rome.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA - Where Else\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a masterpiece of Hellenistic mosaic art. It is visible at the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, near Rome.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Where Else\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iweincoming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-22T08:31:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-05-15T15:02:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Mosaico-del-Nilo-al-Museo-Archeologico-di-Palestrina.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"414\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Italy Where Else\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Italy Where Else\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Italy Where Else\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/person\/8f1f14248c010a1d4d4c67d087dff4a5\"},\"headline\":\"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-22T08:31:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-15T15:02:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\"},\"wordCount\":918,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Palestrina\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Roman Countryside\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\",\"name\":\"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA - Where Else\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-22T08:31:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-15T15:02:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a masterpiece of Hellenistic mosaic art. It is visible at the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, near Rome.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/\",\"name\":\"Where Else\",\"description\":\"Italian Tour Operator\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Where Else Tour Operator\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/logo-copia.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/logo-copia.png\",\"width\":1654,\"height\":2339,\"caption\":\"Where Else Tour Operator\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iweincoming\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iwe_incoming\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/person\/8f1f14248c010a1d4d4c67d087dff4a5\",\"name\":\"Italy Where Else\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA - Where Else","description":"The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a masterpiece of Hellenistic mosaic art. It is visible at the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, near Rome.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA - Where Else","og_description":"The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a masterpiece of Hellenistic mosaic art. It is visible at the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, near Rome.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/","og_site_name":"Where Else","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iweincoming\/","article_published_time":"2019-02-22T08:31:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-05-15T15:02:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":414,"url":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Mosaico-del-Nilo-al-Museo-Archeologico-di-Palestrina.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Italy Where Else","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Italy Where Else","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/"},"author":{"name":"Italy Where Else","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/person\/8f1f14248c010a1d4d4c67d087dff4a5"},"headline":"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA","datePublished":"2019-02-22T08:31:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-15T15:02:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/"},"wordCount":918,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#organization"},"keywords":["Palestrina"],"articleSection":["Roman Countryside"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/","url":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/","name":"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA - Where Else","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-22T08:31:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-15T15:02:48+00:00","description":"The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a masterpiece of Hellenistic mosaic art. It is visible at the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina, near Rome.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/the-nile-mosaic-of-palestrina\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"THE NILE MOSAIC OF PALESTRINA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/","name":"Where Else","description":"Italian Tour Operator","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#organization","name":"Where Else Tour Operator","url":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/logo-copia.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/logo-copia.png","width":1654,"height":2339,"caption":"Where Else Tour Operator"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iweincoming\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iwe_incoming\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/#\/schema\/person\/8f1f14248c010a1d4d4c67d087dff4a5","name":"Italy Where Else"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whereelse.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}