Vinum Nostrum: Art, Science and Mythology of Wine in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations
Florence’s Palazzo Pitti (Museo degli Argenti [Silver Museum]) currently features a fascinating exhibition where visitors are taken on a fascinating journey through the history of wine. Can’t make it to Florence? You can visit the exhibit’s excellent website.
The exhibition is divided into sections on Georgia and the Caucasian Region (where the grapevine was first domesticated), Ancient Egypt, the Near East, Etruria, Magna Graecia and the Italic World, the Routes of Dionysius, and Pompeii.
Visitors learn about the religious and cultural values associated with wine in the different civilizations, methods of production, the grapes used, how the grapevine spread throughout the known world, and how the Romans – the first civilization to turn winemaking into an industry – transported the product.
Many vessels that were made to hold wine are on display, the most important of these being a wine storage container from Georgia, which is 8,000 years old. It is the oldest known vessel for storing wine in the world and is on loan from the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi.
Other original artifacts, sculptures, frescoes, paintings and mosaics, all of which contribute to the story of wine down the ages, are also on display. Artifacts from Pompeii have been particularly important in helping experts chart the history of wine production and consumption.
The exhibit runs through May 15, 2011.
Entrance fee is €10.00.
Hours:
Until October 30th: 8:15 am – 6:30 pm
October 31st: 8:15 am – 5:30 pm
November 2nd – February 28th: 8:15 am – 4:30 pm
March 1st – March 26th: 8:15 am – 5:30 pm
March 29th – April 30th: 9:15 am – 6:30 pm
Closed: First and last Monday of each month, December 25th and January 1st.
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