The Riace Warriors (or Bronzi di Riace) are a pair of Greek bronze statues that were discovered in the sea near Riace, in the southern Italian province of Calabria. The statues date to the 5th century BC and depict two warriors. Both warriors are ɴuᴅᴇ and bearded, though one of them is thought to be an “younger” individual, and the other a “older” one. The former is referred to as Statue A, whilst the latter is known as Statue B. This choice of names is an indication that no one is certain who statues were meant to depict, though some scholars have made their own speculations. The Riace Warriors are considered to be treasures of the ancient world for a number of reasons. For one, bronze statues from ancient Greece are rare, since these works of art were often melted down in later times for the purpose of making new objects.

The modern story of the Riace Warriors, also known as the Riace Bronzes, begins in 1972 AD. On the 16 ^th of August that year, a Roman chemist by the name of Stefano Mariottini was underwater fishing in the Ionian Sea off Marina di Riace. Whilst he was underwater, Mariottini discovered the Riace Warriors in the sand completely by chance. The chemist initially thought that he had found a corpse, though upon closer inspection, realized that it was actually a statue. In any case, Mariottini contacted the authorities, and a few days later, the pair of bronze statues were brought out of the sea by the police and handed over to the archaeological superintendent of Reggio Calabria.

Despite the importance of this amazing discovery, the Riace Warriors were apparently not handled with the care they deserve. For example, a large piece of late antique ceramic was conveniently “forgotten” on the beach. This ceramic piece had originally been placed between the right forearm and chest of Statue A in ancient times to prevent the arm from being damaged.

The Riace Warriors “disappeared” for about a decade, as they needed to be studied, cleaned, and restored before they could be shown to the public. Between 1975 and 1980 AD, the Riace Warriors were in Florence, where initial restoration work was performed on them. One of the primary objectives of the restorers was to clean and preserve the external surface of the statues.

The Riace Warriors were first revealed to the public in the summer of 1981 AD, first in Florence, and then in Rome. The fact that one million people came to see the statues attests to the great interest that the public had for these ancient works of art. And in that same year, the Riace Warriors were also featured on a commemorative Italian postage stamp.

After They Were Found The Warriors Were Restored Twice More

The restoration work, however, was not quite completed yet, and its second phase was conducted between 1992 and 1995 AD. The second stage of restoration work was carried out on the statues in a laboratory in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (or the National Museum of Magna Graecia), in Reggio Calabria, where the artifacts are currently exhibited. The aim of this second phase of restoration was to remove the soil inside the statues. As the soil was soaked in salt, it was damaging the metal, and therefore had to be removed. After that, the Riace Warriors returned to Florence for further restorations. The soil samples were later analyzed by scientists and provided some rather interesting information (see below).

Between 2010 and 2013 AD, the third and latest round of restoration was performed on the Riace Warriors, this time at the Palazzo Campanella, the seat of the Regional Council of Calabria. The statues were restored in this building, which is located across town in Reggio Calabria, as the National Museum of Magna Graecia was under renovation. During this period, the statues were placed on their backs, in an “undignified pose.”

Placing the statues on their backs was in fact a practical measure, as it allowed the restorers to work on them more easily. Still, there were people who found this offensive, blew the controversy out of proportion, and even peтιтioned the Ministry of Culture to have the statues properly exhibited again as soon as possible. In any event, after the restoration was completed, the Riace Warriors were returned to the National Museum of Magna Graecia, where they were each placed on top of an anti-seismic platform to reduce the risk of damage. Moreover, the room that the statues are displayed in is climate controlled, which helps to prevent / slow down their deterioration. On top of that, only 20 visitors are allowed to enter the room at a time, and only after pᴀssing through an airlock.

It should be mentioned that the restoration of 2010-2013 AD was not the only time the handling of the Riace Warriors courted controversy. A year after the statues were back on display, they were once again at the center of another controversy. At that time, there was a proposed plan to transport the statues all the way to Milan, which is about 1000 km (620 miles) to the north of Reggio Calabria. The statues were to be part of the Universal Exposition, EXPO 2015, and were to remain in Milan for a duration of six months. Many experts were concerned with this proposal, as they believed that the statues are now in such a fragile state that even the slightest movement could result in their destruction.

In an article on the issue from 2014 AD, the author questions whether the plan to send the statues to the Universal Exposition is in fact “a blatant money move to gin up ticket sales at EXPO 2015?” By the way, in the end, it was decided that the Riace Warriors would not travel to Milan, as the EXPO 2015 “had no scientific nor cultural standing,” and therefore transporting the statues to the north was simply not worth the risk.

The Riace Warriors: Similarities And Differences

Since the beginning, the two statues have been referred to as Statue A and Statue B. In Reggio Calabria, the statues are known also as “Il Giovane” (“The Young”) and “Il Vecchio” (“The Old”), respectively. In addition to being the younger-looking of the two statues, Statue A is also the taller of the two, though not by much: Statue A is 1.98 meters (6.5 feet) tall, Statue B is 1.97 meters (6.46 feet) tall. Both statues also display differences in their beards, their facial features, and their hairstyles. And the men in both statues are standing in the classic contrapposto stance. Still, a slight difference may be noticed: the feet of Statue B are set more closely together than those of Statue A.

Technically speaking, both statues were cast using the lost-wax technique, and the bronze of the statues is considered to be very thin. It has been observed that Statue A is of a darker greenish color than Statue B, leading to the theory that each statue was made using a different bronze alloy. Apart from bronze, other materials, such as silver, copper, and calcite were also used in the creation of the Riace Warriors.

The teeth of Statue A, for example, are made of silver. Copper was used for the nipples, lips, and eyelashes of both statues. And the sclerae (the white of the eyes) are made of calcite. It is also widely believed that the statues were originally made with attached elements, though these have since been lost. For instance, it is thought that the Riace Warriors once had helmets on their heads, a shield in one hand, and a weapon, perhaps a spear, in the other. Some believe that these attachments, in addition to a third Riace Warrior that allegedly disappeared shortly after it was taken out of the sea, found its way into the collection of the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The museum, however, denies these allegations.