8. Room 7 - The Public Buildings

Audioguide by eArs 8. Room 7 - The Public Buildings This room features objects and sculptures associated with the public buildings of ancient Corfinium, the remains of which are still partially visible and accessible in the city today.Display case 34 showcases furnishings from the bath complexes, offering direct evidence of the activities and practices related to physical well-being carried out there. Among the items on display are balsam jars, a paw likely belonging to a decorative statue—perhaps a goat—and a strigil: a bronze scraper used by athletes to remove excess sweat and oils applied to cleanse the body during physical activities or after massages.Also on display in the room is a stone epigraph mounted on a rotating stand, inscribed with details of restoration work on Corfinium’s ancient theater. The remains of this theater still lie beneath Corfinium’s main square. The same stone was later repurposed for the construction of the Valvense Cathedral of St. Pelino and, in the 18th century, for carving an episcopal coat of arms.It is speculated that the sculpted head of Emperor Claudius, dating to the 1st century CE, was originally intended for the theater as a decorative element placed above the stage. A wall image in the room depicts Corfinium’s main square, beneath which the ancient theater—with a seating capacity of approximately 4,200—is preserved.