Treasures of the Pharaohs: the record-breaking exhibition. From the Quirinale stables he flies to the United States

Record numbers and extraordinary participation of the new generations. With over 400,000 visitors the exhibition overall Treasures of the Pharaohs at the Scuderie del Quirinale, inaugurated on 24 October 2025 and extended for over a month considering the extraordinary influx of visitors, it was one of the greatest exhibition successes of recent years, among the most visited ever in the history of Quirinale stables.

The data and final balance sheets

The involvement of the younger public was particularly significant, with around 60,000 students who visited the exhibition, of which over 40,000 came from primary schools. Without forgetting that 20% of the non-school audience was under 30 years old. Overall, 60% of visitors came from Rome and Lazio, while 40% came from the rest of Italy and abroad. These numbers demonstrate how capable the exhibition was of combining scientific value, cultural attractiveness and dissemination.
Taking stock of the results achieved by the exhibition today, at the Scuderie del Quirinale, were Fabio Tagliaferri, President of Ales SpA, Matteo Lafranconi, Director of the Scuderie del Quirinale, and Simone Todorow, CEO of MondoMostre, who also announced the next international tour of the exhibition, which will see The Treasures of the Pharaohs as protagonists in the United States.
“Recording 400,000 visitors is an immense emotion. But the life of this exhibition does not end in Rome. The Pharaohs fly overseas, to San Francisco and Fort Worth; and from today the exhibitions of the Scuderie del Quirinale ‘Global Baroque’ and ‘Napoli Ottocento’ become permanent thanks to the new Virtual Tour, the result of a rigorous investment in rights management to offer a total immersive experience to students, scholars and enthusiasts from all over the world” said Fabio Tagliaferri, President of Ales SpA
Simone Todorow, CEO of MondoMostre, added: “We are particularly proud of the success of Treasures of the Pharaohs, an exhibition that was able to combine an extraordinary public response with a strong scientific, cultural and informative value. The great participation of schools, young people and families, through guided tours, educational activities and workshops, confirms the project’s ability to also be an important training and educational moment, thanks to the undoubted attraction that the richness of the ancient Egyptian heritage has always had arouses. Heartfelt thanks go to Ales and the Scuderie del Quirinale: fundamental partners, with whom it was possible to create, in the name of collaboration between the public and private sectors, an exhibition of such importance.

After Rome, San Francisco

After Rome, the project now continues in the United States: the American debut of ‘Treasures of the Pharaohs’ at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, followed by a stop at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, represents a further extraordinary achievement and the culmination of a complex and ambitious international cultural operation, co-produced by MondoMostre in close synergy with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Kimbell Art Museum and an Italian institutional reality of excellence like Ales. The hope is that the tour can continue beyond the planned second stop in Texas.”
For Matteo Lafranconi, Director of the Scuderie del Quirinale, “In addition to being one of the greatest successes with the public, Treasures of the Pharaohs was also the longest lasting exhibition in the history of the Scuderie del Quirinale, recording an extraordinary and constant appreciation which was also confirmed in the six weeks of extension”.

The international tour: the Pharaohs land in the United States

After the Roman closure on 14 June 2026, the exhibition project will debut overseas with two absolutely important stages:
de Young Museum, San Francisco: August 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027
The de Young Museum is one of the most important cultural institutions on the American West Coast, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The California presentation is the first North American stop of the exhibition and is co-organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco together with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in collaboration with Ales SpA and MondoMostre. The San Francisco public will be able to admire the entire scientific core of the exhibition: the 130 artifacts presented in Rome, including pieces that will make their appearance in North America for the first time.
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth (Texas): 14 marzo – 19 settembre 2027
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth is among the most authoritative American museum institutions, housed in a 1972 building designed by Louis I. Kahn – considered one of the masterpieces of modern architecture – and in a 2013 pavilion designed by Renzo Piano. The museum is internationally recognized for the quality of its permanent collection, which includes works by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Monet and Picasso. The Texan presentation will take place in the Renzo Piano Pavilion.
The exhibition is divided into six thematic sections — The Treasures of the Pharaohs; The people around the Pharaohs; Religion and beliefs; Daily life; The City of Gold; Death and the afterlife — offering a 360° vision of Egyptian civilization, from the magnificence of royal power to the daily life of artisans.
Among the most anticipated works in American theaters: the golden funerary mask of Amenemope, the sarcophagus of Tuya, the Triad of Menkaure in sculpted schist. For the North American public it will be the first opportunity to see the extraordinary finds from the Golden City of Amenophis III, discovered in 2021 by Zahi Hawass — objects never before exhibited on the American continent.
Eric M. Lee, director of the Kimbell: “Treasures of the Pharaohs will take your breath away. From the scale and splendor of some of the artifacts on display to the revelations about everyday life, visitors will find this exhibit brilliant, both visually and intellectually.”

The exhibition

Treasures of the Pharaohs brought to Rome a selection of 130 masterpieces of Ancient Egyptian art from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Luxor Museum, many exhibited for the first time outside Egypt. Curated by Tarek El Awady, former director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the exhibition is produced by ALES – Arte Lavoro e Servizi of the Ministry of Culture with MondoMostre, in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, with the patronage of the Lazio Region and with the scientific collaboration of the Egyptian Museum of Turin. The project was carried out thanks to the fundamental support of the Main Sponsors Intesa Sanpaolo and ENI, the Official Carrier EgyptAir and the partners Cotral, Urban Vision Group, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and Vivaticket. The exhibition was also accompanied by a detailed editorial programme, created with Allemandi, with a catalog and guides edited by Zahi Hawass, and by a calendar of meetings and insights developed in collaboration with the SARAS Department of the Faculty of Letters of La Sapienza University of Rome. The visit experience was enriched by an audio guide system included in the ticket, with the voice of Roberto Giacobbo for the Italian version and Zahi Hawass himself for the English version, confirming the particular attention dedicated to the dissemination and accessibility of the contents.
The route crossed the splendor of the Egyptian elite through gold and funerary objects (the sarcophagus of Psusennes I, the Necklace of Golden Flies), the ritual practices of the passage to the afterlife (the monumental sarcophagus of Tuya, the shabti, the canopic jars), the daily life of royalty and its servants, the finds from the Golden City of Amenhotep III discovered in 2021 by Zahi Hawass, up to the highest expressions of pharaonic art: the Hatshepsut in the act of offering, the dyad of Thutmose III with Amun, the Triad of Menkaure and the splendid golden mask of Amenemope. In closing, the Mensa Isiaca of the Egyptian Museum in Turin reconnected the symbolic thread between Egypt and Rome.