During my visit, Capotiline museums were closed for renovations; most of their significant works were displaced to various other museums. Whether due to confusing inconvenience or what, the network of National Roman Museums ran "free admissions" during my entire stay; an offer too good to pass up for even someone like me who's "not the museum type". Little did I know! The Vatican Museum, covered in separate entries, initially tweaked my new-found craving, but it was the sculptures that really drew my attention.
The Palazzo Altemps, located at Via di' Sant Apollinare 44, north of Piazza Navona, is an architectural wonder unto itself with large collections of Greek and Roman statues/sculptures that in some places "litter" every inch of space with no sense of display. They're just there! The top floor has the dramatic creation of the Galata's Suicide - a muscular soldier thrusting a sword thru his upper chest while holding a dangling woman (a presumed dead love) with his other hand. A second statue of him positioned sitting on the ground waiting to die, (without the woman) has been situated next to the other one. Both are marble copies from the original bronze works. I was not only captivated by their detail, but obvious inspirations from so many barbaric deaths at the hands of the former Empire. Unfortunately, lighting wasn't good for facial shots of the statues, but captured expressions were as real as anything you've seen in the mirror.
My other "can't believe I'm seeing it" statue was in the National Roman Museum branch located in Palazzo Massimo on Via Viminale halfway between Piazza Della Republica & Termini; both of which have metro stops. The famous "Discus Thrower", seen in this entry's photos, has been around since pre-Olympic Greek days and is even displayed on the back of the 1000-drachma bill. As an athlete, I could relate to the finer aspects of this copied work...which must be a Rome favorite since various sized knock-off replicas were being sold everywhere.
Everything else in between is more than a blur; especially when including the works of art incorporated into buildings, churches and on the streets. There are more than 30 museums/galleries in Rome; enough so that you could build an entire trip around nothing but these and still not take in everything whether from time restrictions or short-circuiting of the mind from overload. Suprisingly, museums weren't crowded. Sparse crowds and napping guards allowed undetected shots from my camera; usually, they're prohibited.
Consider that with the wealth of Catholocism and the former Empire sacking many countries - if these are the works displayed in their museums/galleries, how much more must be in storage for lack of space?