Monday, February 25, 2008 - 08:00h

Aesculapius returns to Empúries

Restored sculpture of Aesculapius
The return of the restored sculpture of Aesculapius begins with a travelling exhibition

The restored sculpture of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, found in Empúries nearly a century ago has begun its homeward journey to Empúries, to coincide with the centenary of the start of archaeological excavations there.

The journey will have two preliminary stages. First it will be exhibited at the Badalona Museum, from February 19th to 28th, and then it will be on display at the Mataró Museum, from March 1st to 11th. The newly restored statue was on display until yesterday at the Catalonia Museum of Archaeology (MAC) as part of the exhibition Aesculapius, return of a god, which has been visited by 6,285 people.

Aesculapius is considered the finest classical sculpture found in the western Mediterranean. The most recent studies date it at over 2,200 years old. It was found on the Empúries site in 1909.

In recent years Aesculapius has been subjected to a study and restoration project. Thanks to this process 85 fragments found in the course of excavations have been recovered. One of the most notable features of the restoration work has been the statue's arms.

The journey planned for the statue's return, which is sponsored by Caixa Catalunya, will allow it to be seen in Badalona (Baetulo in Roman times) and another town of Roman origin, Mataró (Iluro to the Romans). This will be the statue's last stop before its symbolic arrival in Empúries, planned to take place on 15th March.
 
The arrival of the statue in Empúries on March 15th will mark the start of a series of activities to celebrate the centenary of the beginning of excavations at Empúries.