Anniversary of the Army in Catanzaro, a temporary exhibition of testimonies of the Brettii is inaugurated

For the important event of June 5th, the 210th anniversary of the foundation of the Carabinieri, the
Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Catanzaro and Crotone, to pay homage
the commendable service of this armed force, wanted to inaugurate a temporary exhibition, open to
public, of important testimonies of the Brettii recently restored, found in nearby Tiriolo (CZ),
which offer an essential cross-section of this Hellenized Italic people, expert in the art of war.
Among the chosen finds there are four capitals, a helmet and some coins which aim to highlight the importance
of the military virtues of the Bretti, which made them famous in the ancient world also for the strategies used in
war operations, so much so that important Hellenistic sovereigns resorted to them as mercenaries.
The bronze helmet from locality. Donnu Petru, although lacking the “button” apex due to an ancient restoration,
it belongs to a typology generally adopted by light infantry and finds its own iconographic confirmation
in the Brettian coin representation, which shows the warrior’s complete armament with oval shield and
spear. This type of helmet was then used from the mid-3rd century. BC, by the Roman legionaries.
One of the bronze coins, whose dies were produced by a Greek artist or a Hellenized master engraver,
shows the head of Zeus on the R/ and the assaulting helmeted infantryman on the R/.

Then confirming the refinement, prestige and wealth achieved by the members of the Brettian society and more
specifically of those of today’s Tyrolean territory, it was decided to present a preview
absolute, just recomposed and restored by the ABAP Superintendency for the provinces of Catanzaro and
Crotone, four exceptional Ionic-Italic capitals, in local stone and richly painted, which decorated
the monumental building under excavation in the former Tiriolo sports field, in the locality. Giammartino, now a park
archaeological.

This event will be the first of a series of activities with which the Superintendency intends to enhance the
precious heritage of the territory of competence, highlighting the profitable collaborative relationships that
is building with all the institutions present in the territory.
The creation of the exhibition was possible, in addition to the extraordinary commitment of the staff of
Superintendence, thanks also to the patronage of the Carabinieri, of the Municipality of Catanzaro, of the Municipality
of Tiriolo, of the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro and of the Antiquarium Civic Museum of Tiriolo –
Tiriolo Antica, who provided a valuable contribution to the organization of the exhibition spaces.