Melbourne Museum goes Roman with new exhibition and Italian-inspired program

Melbourne Museum has gone fully Roman this autumn, with a major new exhibition and a broader program of food, film and cultural experiences transforming the museum into a hub of ancient and contemporary Italian culture.

Now open, ROME: Empire, Power, People brings more than 180 objects from some of Italy’s most prestigious museum collections to Melbourne, while also anchoring a wider museum program inspired by Roman life and legacy.

A major part of that experience is a new collaboration with iconic Italian institution Brunetti Classico, which has opened an exclusive pop-up at Melbourne Museum for the duration of the exhibition.

Best known in Melbourne for its cakes and coffee, Brunetti has used the opportunity to lean into Roman culinary tradition, offering Roman-style pizza al taglio, antipasti and pastries including cannoli and lobster tail. The idea is to give museum visitors not only an exhibition to explore, but the feeling of a brief cultural trip to Italy.

The museum’s Mercury Restaurant has also joined the Roman takeover, launching a reworked Italian-influenced menu featuring selected dishes developed by chef Joe Di Cintio of Grazia Restaurant and Grazia D’Asporto, alongside Mirco Speri of Buono Ristorante and Sincero.

Beyond food, the program has expanded into film, art and language.

One of the major drawcards is the Il Grande Cinema Series at IMAX Melbourne, presented by Il Globo, which is screening films shaped by Italian cinematic storytelling. The line-up includes Gladiator I and Gladiator II, alongside classics such as Suspiria (1977).

Visitors have also been invited under the dome for Drawing Under the Dome classes, held beneath the Royal Exhibition Building’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed dome. Inspired by the architecture of Florence Cathedral’s Il Duomo, the sessions explore perspective, design and the influence of Italian art in one of Melbourne’s most striking heritage spaces.

For those wanting to go deeper, the museum is also offering adult courses, curator-led talks and guided exhibition experiences examining the ambition, artistry and everyday life of Ancient Rome. Italian-language tours and conversation-based programs are also being delivered in partnership with CO.AS.IT and the Italian Australian Foundation.

Museums Victoria chief executive and director Lynley Croswell said the wider program was designed to give audiences more ways to connect with the ideas and culture behind the exhibition.

“Melbourne Museum’s rich program will extend the exhibition experience, offering visitors new ways to connect with and celebrate the ideas, art and culture that shaped life in Ancient Rome,” she said.

For Brunetti Classico owner Fabio Angele, the partnership also carries a personal connection.

“Brunetti Classico has always carried Rome in its DNA,” he said. “My father commenced his career at a pasticceria there, and those traditions travelled with our family to Melbourne.”

Exclusive to Melbourne, ROME: Empire, Power, People draws from the Museo Nazionale Romano and Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze, exploring both the grandeur of empire and the daily lives of ordinary Romans.

With the exhibition now under way, Melbourne Museum’s Roman-themed program is shaping as one of the city’s more distinctive cultural offerings this season.