Turkey‘s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced this week that in 2026 a major exhibition on Troy will be held at the Colosseum in Rome, one of the world’s most iconic archaeological complexes.
According to Turkish media reports, the Colosseum Archaeological Park will host a large-scale exhibition dedicated to Troy (Truva in Turkish), with artefacts and works from Italian and Turkish museums, mainly selected from the collections of the Trojan Museum in Çanakkale, Türkiye. The exhibition will also be complemented by an opera.
The idea is to link the mythology and history of Troy with the origins of Rome through the Trojan hero Aeneas. The exhibition will bring together pieces from ancient Troy belonging to both countries and will recount the Trojan saga and its link with Roman mythology, taking as its common thread the legend of Aeneas, the Trojan prince who, after the fall of the city, travelled to Italy and gave rise to the lineage that would lead to the foundation of Rome: an epic tale immortalised by Virgil in The Aeneid. The aim, therefore, is to bring to life this mythical and heroic tale that culturally connects the history of both peoples.
An exhibition and an opera in Rome with Aeneas as the central theme
In a message shared on social media, Ersoy stressed that with this initiative Turkey will once again bring its “unique cultural heritage” to the Colosseum, adding that “now it is Troy’s turn“. The minister recalled that the initiative comes after the success of previous exhibitions held in this historic Roman enclave, such as ‘Göbeklitepe: the enigma of a sacred place’, held last year, or ‘Magna Mater’, which took place at the beginning of 2025.
“We are once again bringing Turkey’s unique cultural heritage to the Colosseum, the heart of ancient Rome…,” the minister wrote on social media. Ersoy also explained that bilateral talks between Ankara and Rome to organise the exhibition concluded on 11 December with the signing of a mutual declaration of intentions, which paved the way for preparing the exhibition dedicated to Troy in the Italian capital.
The minister also stressed that this time the project will go beyond a conventional archaeological exhibition, as the story of Troy will not only be displayed at the Colosseum but will also be brought to life by the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, which is already preparing an opera about Troy to accompany the exhibition, thus bringing the Trojan story to Rome’s international audience through the performing arts.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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