ROME.- The Museo dell’Ara Pacis in Rome is giving new voice to one of the most powerful families in ancient history. Beginning May 15, 2026, visitors will be able to explore the stories behind the Julio-Claudian dynasty through a new series of free podcasts dedicated to the museum’s Gallery of Busts.

The project, created by Fondazione Sorgente Group in collaboration with the Sovrintendenza Capitolina, offers a more personal way to encounter the figures who shaped the age of Augustus. Rather than presenting the gallery simply as a collection of faces from the ancient past, the initiative invites visitors to listen to the lives, ambitions, loyalties, and dramas behind them.

The Gallery of Busts features plaster casts of portraits of key members of Augustus’s family, including six casts donated in 2017 by Fondazione Sorgente Group and based on originals from its own collection. Through eight podcasts, available in both Italian and English, visitors can learn about the people who stood at the center of Rome’s first imperial dynasty.

The audio stories will be accessible through QR codes placed beside the individual labels, allowing visitors to move through the gallery at their own pace. Among the figures presented are Augustus himself; his trusted general and close friend Agrippa; Marcellus, once favored as a potential imperial successor; Gaius and Lucius Caesar, the sons of Julia; and Antonia Minor, remembered for her beauty and elegance, together with her son Germanicus, one of the most admired figures of the early imperial period.

The initiative is promoted by Roma Capitale, the Department of Culture and Coordination of initiatives related to Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, with support from Fondazione Sorgente Group. The podcasts were produced by Foglio Edizioni, with museum services provided by Zètema Progetto Cultura.

For Claudio Parisi Presicce, Sovrintendente Capitolino, the project adds a new layer of meaning to the visitor experience. He said the collaboration with Fondazione Sorgente Group enriches the museum with new interpretive tools, transforming the gallery from a series of portraits into a “living narrative” that restores identity, role, and historical importance to the figures of the Augustan age.

Valter Mainetti, President of Fondazione Sorgente Group, said that telling the stories of Augustus’s heirs helps bring the public closer to the history and political dynamics of imperial succession. He also emphasized the value of the plaster portraits as faithful copies of Augustan-era marble originals, making it possible to bring together, in one place, works whose originals are preserved in different museum institutions.

Paola Mainetti, Vice President of Fondazione Sorgente Group, noted that the Julio-Claudian dynasty has long played a central role in the foundation’s cultural activities and collecting choices. She also highlighted the ongoing collaboration between the foundation, the Sovrintendenza Capitolina, and the Museo dell’Ara Pacis, which has produced a number of exhibition projects over the years.

With this new podcast series, the Museo dell’Ara Pacis offers visitors a chance to look beyond the stillness of ancient portraits and hear the human stories behind them—stories of power, family, ambition, and memory at the birth of the Roman Empire.