A couple of weeks ago, however, we spent a weekend in Zaragoza and had the pleasure of revisiting the archaeological museum. It had been closed for reform since the the boys were tiny; they loved it then and would still love it.
I'm sure there was a lot more variety before; as well as the Roman exhibits we saw bits and pieces from all historical periods. These are now in storage awaiting an extension to the museum.
There are two sections, Roman and Goya.
The former displays some good bits of Roman statuary, a lot of wonderful mosaic floors rescued from Roman Zaragoza, and a triclinium. They excavated the remains of a plastered, painted room, along with a mosaic floor, and created a reconstruction with the fragments. It's like a jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing and the gaps painted in. Reproduction Roman furniture, plates and food to add to the effect. It's really impressive!
Some of the mosaics are very good, sophisticated ones, others are those slightly amateur - looking ones; the kind where an artist who's never seen an elephant, but produces an image based (sort of) on what he's heard.
The Goya wing was also impressive. For me, the best thing was that I could get up really close to the paintings - close enough to see the cracks and brushstrokes in the half-dozen major works on display.
It's a good way to spend a cool, peaceful couple of hours in Zaragoza.
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