Uffizi Gallery

RIGHT The god Mercury holding his half brother, the god Bacchus, as a child. This statue was in the Antiquarium of Cosimo I at Palazzo Pitti in 1576 and later, in 1597, in the Galleria degli Uffizi. After it was restored in 1758, it was moved to the Garden of Boboli, where it remained until recently. Marble, 2nd century AD.

Children of the Roman Empire

A new exhibition in Florence examines what life was like for the young sons and daughters of gods, emperors, and ordinary mortals in ancient Rome. Dalu Jones explores what the ancient art on view reveals about attitudes towards children.