(2 February 2016) “The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin,” wrote Jean-Francois Champollion in the early 19th century, relying on the Turin collections to decipher hieroglyphic writing. Today the Turin Egyptian Museum, the oldest Egyptian museum in the world and second in importance only to that of Cairo, is being completely renovated. But audiences in Lisbon will get a sneak peek on Thursday, February 4 at 7pm. The Italian Cultural Institute of the city is hosting a conference to present the new Egyptian Museum with new Director Christian Greco. The conference, entitled “1824-2015: the Egyptian Museum. New connections and archaeological context”, includes images and projections of the renovated museum, and will be moderated by Professor Rogerio Ferreira de Sousa. “At the beginning of the 19th century, the Egyptian museum in Turin was one of the main centers for Egyptology in Europe, the promoter of projects and reason of attraction for scholars; today, it must regain this function – said Greco – the key word here is ‘connections’ because they express the continuity between the history of the museum and its present”. (Sip)
