“Arte Fuori dal Museo“, a new approach to showcasing Italy’s hidden heritage, is an initiative strongly supported by Massimo Osanna, Director General of Museums at the Ministry of Culture.
As part of the “Arte Fuori dal Museo” project, the Diana, Universo, and Scalinata di Spagna hotels in Rome will present three Imperial-era Roman works from the storage rooms of the Ostia antica archaeological park. In collaboration with Federalberghi Lazio, LoveItaly, the Ministry of Culture, and Fondazione Roma, the initiative aims to make precious artifacts, previously unexhibited, accessible to the public, having been confined to the darkness of museum storage for decades.
With an official presentation scheduled for April 9th, as part of “Arte Fuori dal Museo,” an initiative promoted by Federalberghi Lazio, in collaboration with the non-profit LoveItaly ETS, the Directorate General of Museums of the Ministry of Culture, and Fondazione Roma, Hotel Diana presents “Ostia Antica va in città“: the exhibition of three Imperial-era works from the storage rooms of the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park, restored to their original splendour, and currently on display at its headquarters and in the lobbies of the Hotel Universo and the Hotel Scalinata di Spagna.
“As in the majority of Italian museums and cultural sites, approximately 70% of the works are kept in storage and only a fifth of Ostia’s collection, due to lack of space, is on display,” explains Alessandro D’Alessio, director of the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park, and “identifying new ways to publicize Italy’s heritage was therefore a strongly supported initiative by Massimo Osanna, Director General of Museums of the Ministry of Culture. Many works are exhibited at ministries and institutions, but they are not always accessible to visitors. This is why hotels, transit hubs for thousands of people every year, represent the ideal setting for exhibitions, helping to shape the country’s image. We are confident that the positive outcome of this operation will trigger a virtuous cycle and encourage new loans to new facilities. But I also hope that tourists on their third or fourth trip to the capital, intrigued by the works on display, will come to visit the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica.“
Gleaming in the display cases of the three hotels, members of the Federalberghi Committee of Historic Hotels of Rome, are the marble heads of two matrons and the fresco of a deity, all dating back to the 2nd century AD: Faustina the Elder, august wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius, a symbol of female imperial power and future deity in the vast Roman pantheon, at the Hotel Diana. Guest of Hotel Universo is her sister-in-law and co-mother-in-law Domitia Lucilla, wealthy noblewoman and mother of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. At the top of the steps of the Spanish Steps, one of the three Fates, Lachesis, the goddess charged with measuring the thread of life, stands, restored to her original colors.
The project began with a memorandum of understanding between the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture, the nonprofit LoveItaly, and Federalberghi Lazio, benefiting from the financial support of the Fondazione Roma, which provided a grant to partially cover the various interventions. Other sponsors of the initiative include Gruppo Mag, a historic insurance broker, and Montenovi, a company specializing in the transport and assembly of works of art.
“We welcomed this initiative with great enthusiasm from the very beginning,” says Carlo De Angelis, managing director of the Hotel Diana and former president of the Committee of Historic Hotels of Rome. “Our goal has always been to offer an experience that goes beyond a simple stay. Therefore, thanks to the presence of these works, we ensure that our guests not only visit Rome, but also experience its history from the moment they arrive at the hotel. This represents a renewed dialogue between the excellence of Roman hospitality and the region’s millennia-old history.”
For the president of Federalberghi Lazio, Walter Pecoraro, “the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the display of museum works in our Association’s member hotels in Rome and the region has been a source of satisfaction and pride for Federalberghi Lazio. It has long been our desire to establish a partnership that could enhance tourism through the combination of art and culture,” with a project that “in addition to promoting hotel hospitality in Rome and Lazio, brings to light a hidden heritage that tourists can enjoy as an integral part of our hospitality.”
Now, “this wonderful collaboration today returns extraordinary treasures to the city and gives visitors from all over the world the opportunity to be fascinated by little-known Italian works of art,” notes Richard Hodges, president of LoveItaly.
Gianfranco Ferroni, 03 aprile 2026 | © Riproduzione riservata
Image shows the marble bust of Faustina Maggiore post-restoration
