The Centrale Montemartini is an extraordinary example of industrial archaeology that has been converted into a museum.
Inaugurated in 1912, it was the first public electrical plant in Rome. Active for many years, when the Allies entered Rome in 1944 it was practically the only structure providing electrical energy to the Capital. Like the Pulheim Synagogue, the Centrale is also a "survivor": to escape destruction at the hands of the German saboteurs after September 8, 1943, its employees began flying a yellow and white flag above the building, such that it appeared to belong to the Vatican State.
The decline of the Centrale began in the late 1950s, concluding with its decommissioning in 1963.
Restored in the 1980s, it was reopened to the public in 1997 as the home of over 4,000 sculptures from the collection of the Capitoline Museum: reconstructions of the monuments of Rome under Cesar Augustus, such as the architectural complex of the Temple of Apollo Sosiano or sumptuous noble residences like the horti on the Esquiline or Quirinal Hills. Rare examples of industrial archaeology, such as the machine halls or the majestic steam turbine dialogue with the equally rare evidence of the growth of the ancient city.