MUDEM'S contribution to the exhibition
Rome in coin: Art and power in the history of the Eternal City is a multi-venue exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture's Department for the Enhancement of Cultural Heritage and hosted in collaboration with three prestigious state museums: the National Roman Museum, the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum and VIVE - Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia.
From July 2 to September 27, 2026, the exhibition traces the history of Rome through the language of its coinage, from the period of the Republic up to the contemporary age. Among the highlights of the modern and contemporary section of the exhibition, hosted at the Vittoriano, are a 1923 gold 100 lire coin, issued to commemorate the first anniversary of the March on Rome and bearing the effigy of Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy and a masterpiece by Afro Libio Basaldella, 'Still life with coffee pot', both from Banca d'Italia's collection.
The coin, on loan from Banca d'Italia, is displayed in the Zanardelli Hall of the Vittoriano. MUDEM also contributed to designing the exhibition in order to further enrich the dialogue between our numismatic heritage, history and art.
The journey unfolds in progressive stages, enabling the exhibition to trace some key moments in the Eternal City's multi-millennia history, shining a spotlight on the value of coins as unique and surprising witnesses to each era, reflecting politics and economics, art and culture. The story told is enhanced by works of art, documents and digital tools that help the visitor reconstruct different moments in the city's life.
The exhibition contains over 160 works, from antiquity to today, setting out a discovery spanning Republican identity and Imperial propaganda, mediaeval religious symbology, coinage under the temporal power of the popes, on up to modern coins issues and their use as symbols of European integration.
Browse the photo gallery.
For more information, visit the websites of the museums participating in the exhibition:
VIVE - Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia
Archaeological Park of the Colosseum
