«Excuse me, do you know where I can find Augustus?»
«Who?» he asks, probably thinking I’m looking for a friend of mine.
«The roman emperor» I point out.
«I don’t know.» Then, shouting to the guard that’s on the opposite side of the court: «Nello, ah Nello. You know where to find… What was his name?»
«Still Augustus.»
«Emperor Augustus?» he keeps shouting to his colleague.
Nello comes closer: «You mean the statue?»
I nod.
«I think there is one in the Braccio nuovo, go down the stairs then turn left at the end of the corridor.»
In the Braccio nuovo I find the famous Augustus of Prima Porta, one of those statues that you feel like knowing by heart, even if you’ve never seen them live, as it appears in all history books, since primary school: it is the most classical representation, w
