The Jove of Otricoli (The Colossal Head of Jupiter Olympus)

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The Zeus of Otricoli is an ancient Roman bust unearthed in Otricoli during an excavation financed by Pope Pius VI in 1775. It's on display at the Sala Rotonda of the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum, where it attracts a lot of attention. This remarkable bust is believed to be a Roman replica of a Hellenistic original. While some experts think it might be a copy of Phidias' famous statue at Olympia, numismatic reproductions of that statue actually suggest otherwise. It's more likely from later centuries. The Zeus of Otricoli is one of the celebrated Canova Casts made in Rome under Antonio Canova's supervision and presented to the museum 200 years ago. This particular cast was taken from a Roman bust of Jupiter Olympus discovered at Otricoli, Italy in 1775 during excavations funded by Pope Pius VI (1717-1799). It's worth noting that it was under this pope and Napoleon Bonaparte that the Treaty of Tolentino was signed on February 19, 1797. The treaty allowed for the seizing of antiquities, including the Zeus of Otricoli, which was only reversed in 1815 and led to the creation of the Canova Casts.