Torlonia family reach agreement with Italian government to show sample of more than 600 Greek and Roman statues One of the world's most significant collections of classic sculpture is to open to the public for the first time in decades following a "historic" agreement between the Italian government and the aristocratic Torlonia family. The collection, which includes more than 600 Greek and Roman statues, has been maintained, out of view, in some of the Torlonia family's several palaces in Rome since the 1960s. One of the statues which will go on display in Rome. Photograph: Fondazione Torlonia onlus As a first step in a deal signed between a member of the family's foundation and the culture minister, Dario Franceschini, 60-90 pieces will appear in an exhibition curated by the art historian Salvatore Settis, to open in late 2017. Alessandro Poma Murialdo, of the Torlonia family, said one of the principles of the agreement was an understanding that the exhibition would then be shown abroad. "It is going to travel, that is part of the agreement. The collection has to be exposed in Italy, for sure in America, and for sure in Europe," he said. It is understood the entire collection will eventually be housed in a museum in Rome, but Poma Murialdo said his family and the ministry were still having a "modern discussion" about its final destination. Advertisement "I don't think it can be limited, the parameters cannot be limited to Rome. It is a wonderful thing, and I think sponsors, partners, people who should be involved, should come from all over the world," he said. Settis emphasised the value of the collection to the study of classic art and said he was pleased the family's foundation had agreed to pay to restore the pieces, which will remain under their ownership. "Seeing all those pieces that are in many handbooks but that no one has seen for a long period of time certainly changes things," he said. "For many decades the pieces were almost inaccessible, so it was very difficult to look at them, and look at them seriously." Asked why it had taken so long to reach an agreement, he said: "The issue has been the embarrassment of riches, of having too many things. The family owns something like 2,000 or 3,000 pieces in their palaces." After the family put the statues in a deposit, they were "basically invisible" to experts, he said. "I think that even in such a rich context as Rome, the Torlonia collection you could think of it as a very important museum of a minor European capital. Many European countries don't have such a large collection of antiquities in the main museum of their capital, this gives you an idea." The collection was started by Giovanni Torlonia in 1810 with works that were largely unearthed on the family's estates, including about 50 pieces found around what is now the Leonardo da Vinci or Fiumicino airport. Advertisement The collection was reportedly shuttered from public view in the 1960s after the family decided to convert the exhibition building into a block of flats, causing an outcry among experts who, in the late 70s, called for the marbles to be confiscated by the Italian state. "The family has been trying to get to the point of organising a museum on its own for decades. My grandfather started the project in the late sixties and went after various steps that were approved and denied," Poma Murialdo said. The negotiations between the family and the culture ministry only restarted recently, he said. Franceschini said it was an example of the "public-private partnership" he had sought to promote during his time as minister.