From July 20th, 2010, to May 15th, 2011, at the Museo degli Argenti at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the exhibition "Vinum Nostrum: art, science and myths of wine in ancient Mediterranean civilisations" will take place.

From Mesopotamia to our tables, from the rite of communion to avoidable drunkenness, from distasteful habit to gate of spirituality, wine and the grapevine are the protagonists of the exhibition. Original showpieces, sculptures, frescoes and mosaics, accompanied by multimedia and video installations will recount the millenarian history of the grapevine and of wine, and the important influence they exerted on the culture of the ancients. Following a chronological development, the exhibition will illustrate the origin of wine-growing in the Near East, its full affirmation along with its related symbolic, religious and cultural significance in the Hellenic world, up to its production and large-scale diffusion practised by the Romans. By virtue of the abundant archaeological remains of the Vesuvian cities, the particular case of the vineyards of Pompeii will be illustrated, while the exhibition will devote another section to the extraordinary contribution of the Phoenicians and the Etruscans, who played an essential role in spreading the cultivation of the vitis vinifera throughout the Mediterranean. While inviting visitors to reflect on the evolution of cultivation techniques (reproduction and genetic improvement, ploughing the land, bedding plants, tending the vineyard, theoretical principles and practical instructions for pruning and grafting), specially selected exhibits will also illustrate the religious and cultural values of the grapevine, expressed since the most remote epochs through a very vast series of depictions which speak of the divinities, rituals and festivities of wine. Precious sculptures and painted vases will illustrate the birth and spreading of the cult of Dionysus, capable according to tradition of continuously changing form and substance. Moreover, elegant table-services will clarify how the consumption of wine represented one of the most important moments of conviviality among patricians. A cella vinaria where wine was stored, scenographically reconstructed based on precious finds uncovered at Pompeii and on the precise descriptions contained in Latin literature, will enable the visitor to delve into the reality of the past, as he walks amidst tools for the vineyard, wine amphorae and wooden barrels, baskets for harvesting, carts and all of the necessary equipment. The exhibition itinerary aims not only at scientifically documenting the entire cycle of wine, from harvest to consumption, but also at stimulating taste, smell and sight, the senses that have a close relationship with wine which emerge at different historical and social levels.

Opening hours:
Daily:
8.15 – 16.30 (November February)
8.15 – 17.30 (March)
8.15 – 18.30 (April, May, September and October)
8.15 – 17.30 (in the month of October when Daylight Saving Time ends)
8.15 – 18.50 (June August)
Entry is permitted up to half an hour before closing time.
Closed on the 1st and the last Monday of each month, New Year's Day, May 1st and Christmas Day.