THE ARRUNTII GRAVESTONE

Archaeological Museum "San Lorenzo"

The necropolis

Sculpture

The Arruntii family’s gravestone dates back, more or less, to the half of the 1st century a.C. At the beginning it was placed on the facade of a funerary monument along the road to Bergamo. The slab shows the portraits of four members of the family: the eldest son Massimo, a legionary soldier, the mother and the two sisters. These information come from the inscription under the portraits.

The history of the mother is particularly important: her Greek name was Calinice and she was liberta. Then, she got married with Caio, father of Massimo, Arruntia Tertia and Arruntia Quarta (according to the Roman use of calling the daughters with a name respecting the order of their birth). We do not have any information about the capofamiglia and about an other son (the siblings should have been four), probably both soldiers like Massimo and dead far away from Cremona.

visit the museum's other spaces

The public space

It expresses what the political authority wanted to communicate ideologically, not only at local level but also directly to Rome

The necropolis

Sepulchral stones and grave goods considered necessary for the afterlife

The private space

It enhances the prestige of the élites among the pares and towards the other clientes