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The National Archaeological Museum: Roman Formiae in the Bourbon Stables
The National Archaeological Museum of Formia occupies the 19th-century spaces known as the "Stalloni dei Borbone" — the Bourbon Stables — in the southern wing of the Municipal Palace on Via Vitruvio. The collection tells the story of the city's most flourishing period: sculptures of the highest quality, from the late 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD, coming largely from the forum area, today's Piazza Mattej; honorary statues of local patrons and magistrates, portraits of the imperial family, including an image of Gaius Caesar, the grandson of Augustus.
Statues With Traces of Colour
Two of the togated male statues still preserve traces of paint, a rare testament to how richly coloured ancient sculptures once were. The red of the toga and the ring on the ring finger indicate the high rank of the subject, perhaps a magistrate in the act of performing a sacrifice.
Leda and the Swan
In the gallery indoors, the sculptural group of Leda and the Swan stands out, discovered in 1928 in the cryptoporticoes of Piazza della Vittoria. The sculpture is a copy of a Greek original of 370–360 BC attributed to Timotheus, with the head missing, depicts the queen of Sparta welcoming Zeus, who has been transformed into a swan. Beside it is a Fourth Style fresco depicting a garden and a bird.
