Troia e Roma. Miti, leggende, storie del Mediterraneo antico (Troy and Rome): through Sunday, November 8, 2026

In short. The exhibition «Troia e Roma. Miti, leggende, storie del Mediterraneo antico» (Troy and Rome: Myths, Legends and Stories of the Ancient Mediterranean) at the Colosseum (Piazza del Colosseo 1, 00184 Rome) runs from June 12 to Sunday,…

Watercolor illustration generated with artificial intelligence

AI-generated illustration: not a photograph of Parco archeologico del Colosseo or of the event.

The exhibition «Troia e Roma. Miti, leggende, storie del Mediterraneo antico» (Troy and Rome: Myths, Legends and Stories of the Ancient Mediterranean) at the Colosseum (Piazza del Colosseo 1, 00184 Rome) runs from June 12 to Sunday, November 8, 2026, the extended closing date. It can still be visited on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, with admission included in the ticket of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo.

Watercolor illustration of a large stylized wooden horse in front of the arches of an amphitheater — AI-generated illustration: not a photograph of Parco archeologico del Colosseo or of the event.

Updated November 6, 2026.

The event

The Ministry of Culture promoted the exhibition under the bilateral agreement signed in Rome in April 2025 with Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, followed in December 2025 by a technical agreement on the show. It is a cultural diplomacy initiative and, in terms of organization, one of the largest exhibitions ever devoted to Troy, curated by Alfonsina Russo, Roberta Alteri, Alessio De Cristofaro, Bülent Gönültaş, Mehtap Ateş, Deniz Doğu Yöndem and Rüstem Aslan.

There are more than 300 works, coming from major Italian museums and from Troy, and many are shown in Italy for the first time. Over 220 are on loan from 19 Turkish museums, and 50 of these had never been seen by the Italian public. The route opens with a monumental replica of the Trojan Horse.

The first section reconstructs the history, archaeology and topography of the site of Troy, with a fresh look at the Hittite world and at Anatolia in the third and second millennia BCE. The second tells the Trojan War from the Trojans' point of view, with ample room for Homer and the epic tradition, up to the fall of the city and the start of Aeneas's diaspora. The third follows Aeneas's voyage through literary sources, from Stesichorus to Virgil, and archaeological evidence from southern Italy, Sicily and Lazio.

The fourth section is devoted to Romulus and the foundation of Rome, to archaic Rome and to the way the Romans developed their own Trojan origin, with a focus on the Augustan age and on Virgil. Figures evoked include Paris, Helen, Priam, Hecuba, Cassandra, Hector, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles, Patroclus, Aeneas, Lavinia, Ascanius and Romulus.

Where it takes place: Colosseo (Parco archeologico del Colosseo)

The Colosseum is the amphitheater built by the Flavian emperors, at the center of the Archaeological Park that also includes the Roman Forum and the Palatine. The exhibition route is housed in the monument and is visited with the same ticket. For the Park see also the Palatine Museum and the page on the Colosseum.

Practical information

Dates: from June 12 to Sunday, November 8, 2026 (extension); within the window, Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.
Venue: Colosseum, Piazza del Colosseo 1, 00184 Rome.
Admission: exhibition included in the ticket to the Parco archeologico del Colosseo; full price 18 euros, 2 euros reduced for EU citizens aged 18 to 25.
Hours of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo from October 25, 2026 to February 28, 2027: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., last entry 3:30 p.m.; closed on December 25 and January 1; free admission on the first Sunday of the month. Official online ticket office of the Park.
Getting there: use the ATAC route planner.