Monday, September 15, 2008

Egyptian Museum

This is the entrance to the Egyptian Museum in Torino. This is the second most important Egyptian Museum (first is at Cairo) in the world. In fact it's yearly visited by over 500,000 people.

Questo è l'ingresso al Museo Egizio di Torino. Questo è il secondo più importante Museo Egizio (il primo è a Il Cairo) nel mondo e conta infatti oltre 500.000 visitatori l'anno.
Posted by Picasa

19 comments:

Laurie Allee said...

Oh, I'd love to explore this museum!

I really like your choice of vantage point here. The perspective and composition is wonderful.

Virginia said...

Wonderful view Fabrizio. I am fascinated that there would be an Egyptian museum in Italy. THanks for sharing this with us.

USelaine said...

I knew about the shroud (perhaps the most famous thing of Torino for Americans), but I didn't know about the Egyptian antiquities housed there.

Anonymous said...

Bellissimo. Un orgoglio per la città.

Sally said...

How did the Egyptian stuff get to be in Turin?
Sydney Daily Photo

marie6 said...

That must be very interesting having a different part of the world in your country!

Crafty Green Poet said...

me piace molto questo museo, e interessantissimo!

Tanya Breese said...

Wonderful perspective...will you show us the inside? :)

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

Sally, as said (in English) in the Museum site history -following the blue link- the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs Jean-François Champollion came in Torino in 1824. Then it's also possible to read that: ""The collections that make up today’s Museum, were enlarged by the excavations conducted in Egypt by the Museum’s archaeological mission between 1900 and 1935 (a period when finds were divided between the excavators and Egypt)."" and...

""Champollion arrived in Turin as the Drovetti Collection was being unpacked, and within a few months of excited activity produced a catalogue raisonné of the collections. In 1894 Ernesto Schiaparelli, a former student of the Egyptologist and head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Gaston Maspero, became director of the Museo Egizio. Schiaparelli went to Egypt to acquire further antiquities (1898-1901). He then set about excavating in Egypt at several sites including Heliopolis, Giza, the Valley of Queens at Thebes, Qaw el-Kebir, Assiut, Hammamiya, Hermopolis, Deir el-Medina and at Gebelein, where his successor Giulio Farina continued to excavate.""

I personally don't love to make too long caption, that the reason because I preferred to link the Museum site and -at the other side- I really am not used to write nothing that hasn't been proved.

Then, in Wikipedia like in the Town Hall - Museums sites (both in English) it's clearly said that this collection is the largest in the world after Cairo Exhibition.

At the other side, USelaine, I'm deeply sorry that the, after to have hosted Winter Olympic Games, to have been Capital of Italy, hosting the largest collection in the World -After Egypt- of Egyptian archaelogy and anthropology, hosting one of most important Cinema Museum in the world... Torino is more known abroad just because the shroud (holy or not we still don't know). It's like to say that people know Paris thank its sewers and NYC thank its Planetarium... Sigh.

Anonymous said...

It's a really good idea to show this museum! It's quite amazing that it's the second biggest collection of Egyptian artefacts in the world. But as far as I remember, it's because a Torinese egyptologist has made a lot of excavations in Egypt and bring the results of them back in Italy.
How did you get such a perspective?! The street is quite narrow, no? Anyway, this museum was the main reason for me to come to Torino and I really enjoyed myself there! Thanks to my virtual guide ^^

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

@ Anonymous, you are talking about Bernardino Drovetti but -as said in the museum site- ""The collections that make up today’s Museum, were enlarged by the excavations conducted in Egypt by the Museum’s archaeological mission between 1900 and 1935 (a period when finds were divided between the excavators and Egypt)."" Today Egyptian laws are different and everything found remain in Egypt.

I got that perspective using a 12mm lens and *yes* you're right the street is quite narrow. I'm happy that the Egyptian Museum was the main reason for you to come to visit Torino. Really happy. - Thank you !

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

@ Tanya, Thank you about suggestion. I will do that. Promised.

Jane Hards Photography said...

I particuarly like the golden light form inside trickling through. pshots are a favourite of mine, they really bring out the detail.

Janet said...

Egypt in Italy? Very interesting!

Anonymous said...

Fabrizio, in my opinion, you forgot Torino as the city of "Salone del Gusto" and "Terra Madre"...
;-)

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

oops James, you punctually catch me in fault eheh :-) -- Yes "Salone del Gusto" and "Terra Madre" --- Of course I'll talk (and I'll show) them next October ;-)

b.c. said...

Hi Fabrizio! nice shot, it looks like an impressive building

Hilda said...

Thank you for answering my question even before I asked it. I too was wondering about a large Egyptian museum in Italy.

Very interesting post and a wonderful perspective of a beautiful building. I especially love the Egyptian statues flanking the entrance. (I don't know enough about their ancient gods to identify which one it is.)

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

Welcome back Bluechic !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Hilda. I will show you better those statues and as promised to Tanya, I also will post some photo taken inside but... The question fo you both is: Why don't you come to visit Torino -- You're officially invited :-)