From 27th September to 2nd December 2018 Santiago Ydáñez’s contemporary installation will bring the past to life at the ancient residence of Augustus’s wife, Livia, at Prima Porta. The artist reinterprets the elegant frescoes that used to surround the Viridarium with an evergreen garden, originally located on the four walls of the basement room and now housed at the Museo Nazionale Romano in Palazzo Massimo.
The Spanish painter stages Il ritorno del Paradiso, a contemporary Eden inhabited by exotic birds and animals, a place designed to escape daily life and indulge in the pursuit of pleasure, study or any personal interest. The project is promoted by the Roman Superintendence and co-produced by the Royal Academy of Spain with Electa, and sheds light on the original function of Livia Drusilla’s suburban villa, sparking a dialogue between the present and the past.
Start date
Thursday 27 september 2018
End date
Sunday 02 december 2018
Villa di Livia
Via Villa di Livia, 125, Prima Porta
00178 Roma