ALULA: The Royal Commission for AlUla has partnered with the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) to bring ancient works from its collection to Saudi Arabia and the region for the first time.
The “Masterpieces of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples” exhibit is running at Maraya until Dec. 14.
The show highlights Saudi Arabia’s role in the Incense Road, a network that extended over 2000km.
The show highlights Saudi Arabia’s role in the Incense Road, a network that extended over 2000km. (AN photo)
Melanie de Souza, executive director of destination marketing at the Royal Commission of AlUla, told Arab News that the commission is grounded in “this very deep heritage.”
“Our connections with Rome are strong, and for us, it’s about telling the continuous story of the role AlUla played in terms of trading routes and cultural connections across the world,” she said.
Professor Massimo Osanna, director general of museums at the Italian Ministry of Culture, told Arab News that AlUla, like Pompeii and Naples, is “one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
Fifteen masterpieces from ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum and Rome are being presented to a regional audience for the first time. (AN photo)
“In AlUla, you can understand how close the culture is between our territory in Italy and here,” he said. “This territory belonged to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire expanded into Saudi Arabia… In the inscriptions, you will find Arabic, Nabatean, and Latin.”
Fifteen masterpieces from ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum and Rome are being presented to a regional audience for the first time.
Highlights include a statuette of Alexander the Great on horseback from the 1st century BCE and a statue of Roman Emperor Trajan found in Minturno, Italy.
“Some values and attitudes of human beings are very contemporary. We are very similar, and of course, society changes … but there are some aspects of human beings that are always the same,” Osanna said, explaining why the statues resonate with viewers today.
