Italy displays paintings from ancient Etruscan tomb
Rome, June 30: Italy on Tuesday put on display one of the best-known examples of Etruscan painting, from a tomb that has become the latest acquisition in the Culture Ministry’s buying spree of big-ticket pieces of the country’s cultural heritage.
The ministry announced in May that it had acquired the fresco panels, dating from the 4th century, from members of the Torlonia family, one of Italy’s ancient noble families whose vast collection of antiquity has long been kept out of the public domain.
The Francois Tomb was discovered in 1857 by the French archaeologist Alessandro Francois in Vulci, on land owned by the Torlonia family. The frescoes were detached from the necropolis in 1863 and became part of the Torlonia collection, while the contents of the tomb were divided up among Francois, colleagues and the family.
The Italian government has been trying to get possession of the tomb since 1921, as part of its effort to bring back into the Italian public patrimony artefacts and antiquities that were acquired or looted during the boom of archaeological excavations in the 1800s and beyond.
The tomb is opening to the public on Wednesday at Rome’s Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum. Alongside the fresco panels are jewels, Etruscan vases and other items that were discovered inside the tomb, now belong in museum collections around the world and were loaned to Italy for the exhibition.
The tomb, reportedly purchased for 15 million euros (USD 17 million), marks the Culture Ministry’s third major acquisition this year of culturally important artworks. It paid 14.9 million euros (USD 16 million) for Antonello da Messina’s ” Ecce Homo” and USD 35 million for a rare portrait by Caravaggio depicting Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII.
The funds have come from the ministry’s annual budget for acquisitions, but Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has prioritised buying fewer, bigger-ticket items of cultural importance rather than smaller, lesser artworks and antiquities, officials said.
Giuli has said the tomb is a “fundamental” part of Italian history that was now being returned to the Italian public to enjoy. (AP)
Restoring dignity one haircut at a time in Kenya’s largest mental health hospital
Nairobi, June 30: At Kenya’s largest mental health referral hospital, male patients encounter a different kind of therapy: a personal grooming session provided by two visiting barbers. As their equipment is unpacked, excitement spreads. Patients eagerly take turns sitting in the barber’s chair, looking forward to a haircut.
Healthcare workers say personal grooming is an important aspect of recovery, as one sign of mental illness can be a loss of interest in personal hygiene and self-care.
Kenya has limited data on the prevalence of mental illness. According to the government’s 2015 Mental Health Policy, an estimated 25 per cent of outpatients and 40 per cent of inpatients in all health facilities experience mental health conditions.
Mental health experts say depression and anxiety are among the most common conditions, while substance use disorders remain a major challenge, particularly among men.
June is observed as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Francis Kabugua, a nursing officer at Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital in Nairobi, is encouraging men to speak openly about their struggles instead of turning to alcohol and other substances in an attempt to cope.
“Among the things that you may see a person with depressive disorders is segregating themselves or separating themselves from the members of the family. They start also not providing for the family,” he said.
Sheila Lugaliki founded Uniquely Gifted, a community-based organization that offers the free grooming services. She said her own experience as a patient in a psychiatric ward inspired her to establish the monthly initiative.
She said she hopes the act of providing haircuts restores dignity, boosts confidence and reminds patients that they are valued as opposed to them feeling “neglected.” “You find someone has been admitted for six months and yet no one has groomed their hair. How they look really does not reflect how they are feeling,” she said.
Psychiatric nurse Titus Enko agreed, saying that personal grooming enhances patients’ self-esteem and contributes to their overall recovery and well-being.
As the barbers trimmed patients’ beards, one man summed up the experience in a single word. He said he felt “alive.” (AP)
