This model depicts the torch and wick from the 1960s Summer Olympic Games held in Rome. The model for the wick was created from an original using photogrammetric modelling. The torch itself was modelled in Blender, based on an original on loan to the museum.
The torch is made in bronzed aluminium on the design of Profes. Amedeo Maiuri, which was inspired by torches in classical monuments. Weighing 580 grams at 40cm length, 1,500 torches were created for the Games. The inscription on the hilt reads ‘GIOCHI DELLA XVI OLYMPIADE’
The torch was lit in Olympia from a parabolic reflector, placed in a classics Greek vase and run to Athens in a 330km relay. It was shipped from Piraeus to Syracuse in the whaling vessel Vespucci. It was carried to Rome in a relay following the ancient roads of the Via Appia and Via Flamina.
299 colourc checked photographs were compiled in Agisoft Metashape to create the wick. The torch was modelled from reference images in Blender.
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