Museo Egizio Turin

The Museo Egizio in Turin is considered to be the most complete museum of Egyptian antiquities in the world after the Museum of Cairo and is popular among visitors to Turin.

Egyptian objects appeared in Italy from the reign of Caligula onwards, but the collection at the Museo Egizio in Turin began with a collection of statues recovered by Vitaliano Donati in 1753, and was added to in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The final additions to the collection were from a series of archaeological excavations undertaken by Ernesto Schiaparelli between 1903 and 1920.

The museum is housed in a building specially constructed to house it in Via Accademia delle Scienze, and appears in the original 1969 version of The Italian Job when the robbers transfer the gold bullion to the three Mini Coopers.

One side of the hall in the downstairs portion of the museum is part of the surrounding wall of Augusta Taurinorum as Turin was known by the Romans. The well preserved wall dates from the Age of Augustus, between 30 BC and 14 AD.

The collection

The Museo Egizio takes you through the 31 dynasties of ancient Egypt with relics such as mummies, statues and stonework with hieroglyphics, with historical explanations.

The museum is housed on three floors and the entrance contains a mummified body, curled up in a foetal position, with skin intact though dry as parchment, as well as many other artefacts.

One of the most impressive displays must be the two halls of statues of gods, kings and sphinxes, which is almost church-like. Eerily dark, with the individual statues lit, the stillness is broken by the sound of pipes backed by almost unworldly sounds.

These two halls contain several representations of Sekhmet, a lion-headed godess, offering tables with representations of food, drink and the seven essential unguents for the afterlife. At the end of the first hall, two large sphinxes seem to retain their role of protecting the temples, while the the second hall also has a display of sarcophaguses.

Following this display is a section about the afterlife, with coffins and bandage-wrapped mummies - one has even had his face and hair painted on the bandages - and the head of King Nebiri. There is also a model of the chambers inside a pyramid.

The delicate nature of the displays means that visitors are not allowed to use flash photography.

The museum costs €5, or €8 for entry to the Galleria Sabauda. Audio guides are available in several languages and a 90 minute guided tour is also available.

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