The National Archaeological Museum of Florence inaugurated the new Chimera Room today, a fully renovated space dedicated to the famed Chimera of Arezzo, the Etruscan bronze that once belonged to Cosimo I de’ Medici and has long been considered the museum’s crown jewel: item no. 1 in its catalogue. The statue now occupies an immersive, scenographic environment designed by the Guicciardini & Magni architectural studio, which invites visitors into an intimate encounter with the masterpiece. A circular layout, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting and a monumental base provide a renewed sense of presence, allowing the Chimera to be seen from every angle.
The bronze portrays the mythological creature in the moment of defeat by the hero Bellerophon. It is a composite beast: the body and head of a lion, a second head of a goat rising from its back, and a serpent for a tail, though the original tail was never recovered. The body still bears the marks of battle: the goat’s horn appears broken, the lion’s flank is wounded, and the creature twists in a final, desperate recoil. On one of its forelegs is the Etruscan inscription tinścvil, meaning “offering to Tinia”, identifying it as a votive offering dedicated in a sanctuary of ancient Arezzo.
The statue was unearthed on November 15, 1553, during fortification works ordered by Cosimo I near Porta San Lorentino in Arezzo. Those present were captivated, as contemporary accounts suggest, by the vitality of its tense, arched form, which seemed to be breathing beneath the earth that had concealed it for more than two millennia.
The Chimera immediately enchanted Cosimo I, who saw in Etruscan civilisation the symbol of a pre-Roman, proudly Tuscan identity. Aspiring to present his new Grand Duchy as heir to the ancient peoples of Etruria, he placed the Chimera in a position of prestige in the halls of Palazzo Vecchio. Cosimo even took part personally in the statue’s restoration, using the tools of a goldsmith. The sculpture quickly became a point of pride for the Medici court, praised by artists and intellectuals alike, including Titian and Vasari, for its remarkable style, anatomical precision and expressive power.
In 1718, the Chimera was moved to the Uffizi by Cosimo III. With the end of the Medici dynasty, it was included in the Family Pact signed by Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici in 1737, which ensured that the family’s collections, and with them the Chimera, passed intact to the new Grand Duke, Francesco Stefano of Lorraine, remaining permanently in Florence for the public benefit.
The statue entered the sphere of modern museum history in 1871, when it was transferred to the newly established Egyptian and Etruscan Museum in via Faenza, the first institution of its kind in Italy, created during Florence’s brief tenure as capital of the Kingdom of Italy. A decade later, in 1881, the entire collection found its home in the present-day headquarters of the National Archaeological Museum, at Palazzo della Crocetta, where the Chimera has remained one of its defining treasures.
Today, with the opening of the renewed Chimera Room, the museum reaffirms the sculpture’s central place in its collections . In the words of the museum’s director, Daniele Federico Maras: “We are proud to unveil the new permanent display of our Chimera, conceived to offer every visitor an intimate and personal experience of this extraordinary work. The design employs the expressive language of theatre and monumentality, encouraging active engagement while eliminating unnecessary distractions.”
