For immediate Release - 27th May 2020

From May 28th until August 30th, it will be possible to visit again the exhibition Journey into the Great Beyond. Tutankhamun RealExperience®, which was inaugurated at Palazzo Reale on March 5th and then closed due to the medical emergency from Covid - 19. The exhibition reopens to the public with new days and times, quota access only on reservation, following updated guidelines aimed at protecting the safety of visitors.

Promoted by the Municipality of Milan|Cultura, Palazzo Reale, Civita Mostre e Musei, and Laboratoriorosso, the exhibition Journey into the Great Beyond. Tutankhamun RealExperience® is an engaging, and, in part, immersive experience that tells the story of the journey "into the great beyond" of the most famous Pharaoh, and illustrates how the afterlife was imagined by the ancient Egyptians. It does so with a selection of precious original specimens including the statue of the god Amon, which looks like the young Tutankhamun. Significant ancient finds are on display along with large immersive projections accompanied by an original soundtrack and an engaging narrative backed by a solid Egyptological approach, thanks to the contribution of a prestigious Scientific Committee, chaired by Miroslav Barta and composed of Zahi Hawass, Christian E. Loeben, Liam McNamara, and Gabriele Pieke.

Journey into the Great Beyond. Tutankhamun RealExperience® tackles the mystery of death and life in the afterworld. It further sheds light on the complex and multiple features of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Visitors will be confronted with an innovative approach to a civilization that we often mistakenly believe we know well. They will also have the opportunity to realize the enormous debt Western thought owes to it. They will be able to do so with the help of two different exhibition formats that describe the journey into the great beyond of the Pharaoh and his subjects. An evocative introductory video is followed by the archaeological section. Here, items and artworks have been selected by Francesco Tiradritti with setting designed by FC Confalonieri. Visitors will learn about the beliefs of the Egyptians through the items and tools that the latter would require for their survival in the afterworld that was believed to be a continuation of everyday life. Ancient monuments and artefacts can be admired for their historical and artistic value, but also to testify to the expectations and fears – not too different from ours – experienced by people who lived thousands of years ago, when faced by the mystery of the unknown.

Most of the exhibits on display come from the Collections of the Municipality of Milan and from the National Archaeological Museum in Florence. The so called ‘Corredo Busca’ has been brought together for the first time: it includes a mummy, a sarcophagus, and an extremely interesting 7-meter long Papyrus dating back to the 19th – 20th Dynasty. It was recovered by Marquis Carlo Busca shortly before 1850 during his excavations and it was preserved in the Archives of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. On display are also several finds from private collections.

Among the exhibited artefacts, the beautiful statue of the god Amon, with the features of the young Tutankhamun, on loan from the Fritz Beherens Foundation and the August Kestner Museum in Hanover, is worth mentioning. Wonderful are also the two heads of funerary figurines attributable to the controversial King Akhenaten (1350 -1333 BC), father of Tutankhamen and the originator of a religious reform who, according to many scholars, was the first monotheistic religion in history. A rare relief fragment from the mastaba of Seshemnefer (VI) Heba (6th Dynasty, kingdom of Djedkara Isesi; 2388 - 2356 BC), in Saqqara, will also be on display. Its bright, still well preserved colours fully recreate the magnificence and charm of the austere and delicate art of this period.

The archaeological finds are illustrated in the catalogue published by Laboratoriorosso and edited by Francesco Tiradritti. After the display of ancient findings, the exhibition becomes fully multimedia. It is divided into two different settings. In the first, by means of the extraordinary images that have come down to us, visitors can retrace the distinctive features of a civilization that for millennia had settled on the banks of the Nile: they will start in Thebes and then enter the Valley of the Kings. Then they will be led by Howard Carter to discover the tomb of Tutankhamen and his extraordinary funerary outfit. In a second immersive setting, Tutankhamun himself will guide visitors into the great beyond, in pursuit of immortality.

The multisensory experience is built with images and animations that come from tombs and objects also from other periods of the Egyptian history. Hence, by representing the journey of all Tutankhamen's predecessors and successors, the exhibition itinerary acquires an absolute value in the universe of Pharaonic Egypt. The perpetual crossing of the dark regions was an obligation for the Pharaoh who would sacrifice his own resurrection to get on the solar boat so that dawn could repeat itself, day after day. The twelve hours of the night were fraught with dangers that could only be avoided when Ra, the sun god, merged with Osiris, the god of the dead.

The same topic developed in the multimedia section of the exhibition is also covered by a remarkable illustrated book, published by Taschen and edited by Sandro Vannini with the collaboration of Mohamed Megahed.

On the initiative of the Municipality of Milan|Cultura, the exhibition Journey into the Great Beyond. Tutankhamun RealExperience® is linked to another important exhibition held in the Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan Under the Nut Sky. Divine Egypt, which will open to the public on Saturday 30 May with the reopening of the museum following the medical emergency. Produced and organized by the Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan, the exhibition investigates the invisible and elusive nature of the gods, entering the spiritual and conceptual universe of Egyptian civilization, which originally developed its own vision of the cosmos and of the role reserved both for man and for gods in the cosmos itself. The exhibition itinerary includes more than 150 works and allows visitors to enter the world of the divine in Egypt through bronze, stone and faï ence sculptures, votive reliefs, sarcophagi, mummies and elements of the funerary equipment that accompanied the deceased in the afterlife.

According to the new timetable until June 21, the Museum will be open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11.00 to 18.00. 15 people will be allowed to enter every 30 minutes, upon reservation (mandatory also for holders of free tickets) and purchase of the ticket on the platform http://museicivicimilano.vivaticket.it.

All details on the access program and the rules for visitors are published on the institutional website, www.museoarcheologicomilano.it

Information Sheet Journey into the Great Beyond Tutankhamun RealExperience® Milan, Palazzo Reale Date 28th May 2020 through 30th August 2020 Curated by Sandro Vannini Scientific Committee Miroslav Barta, Zahi Hawass, Christian E. Loeben, Liam McNamara and Gabriele Pieke Archaeological Collection Catalogue Francesco Tiradritti An exhibition by Municipality of Milano – Cultura Palazzo Reale Civita Mostre e Musei Laboratoriorosso Catalogue Laboratoriorosso

Photographic Book Taschen Exhibition Information 199.15.11.21 (from Monday to Friday 9.00 a.m. -6.00 p.m. ; Saturday 9.00 a.m. - 12.00) When calling from abroad: 02.89096942 www.palazzorealemilano.it mostre@civita.it www.tutankhamonmilano.it

New opening hours Thursdays from 11.00 to 22.30 Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays from 11.00 to 19.30. 2nd June and 15th Augusto from 11.00 to 19.30 Last entrance one hour before exhibition closing time Access to Palazzo Reale Reservation and pre-purchased ticket is required (the ticket office on site is closed). Visitors must arrive at Palazzo Reale no earlier than 5 minutes before the booked time. It is necessary to wear protective face masks and use hand sanitizers on site, to have access to each area of Palazzo Reale. The body temperature will be detected at the entrance. If the value is greater or equal to 37.5 degrees, access will not be allowed. At present, it is not possible to book visits for groups or schools. Before booking or reaching Palazzo Reale consult the access rules: https://www.palazzorealemilano.it/nuove-regole-di-accesso Tickets (including audio guide)

Standard € 14 ticket Discounted € 12 ticket: visitors up to the age of 26 and over 65, teachers, disabled individuals, military, off-duty law enforcement personnel, members of FAI and Touring Club, ticket holders participating in the "Lunedï Musei" events (Poldi Pezzoli Museum and La Scala Theatre Museum), and holders of special concessions

Special Discounted € 10 ticket: for holders of Abbonamenti Musei Lombardia, Orticola Members with a card valid for the current year, holders of ticket for Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan Special Discounted € 6 ticket: Special discount for all types of schools, groups organised directly by FAI and Touring Club, non-accredited journalists, employees of the Municipality of Milan and National Civil Service Volunteers working for the Municipality of Milan € 10 Family ticket per person for one or two adults, € 6 for children aged 6 to 14, free for children up to 5 years Free for children under 6, one group leader, two accompanying teachers per school class, one accompanying person, if needed, of disabled individuals, journalists accredited with the municipal or exhibition Press Office, licensed tourist guides, holders of ICOM card, employees of the Landscape and Architectural Heritage Service of Milan Admission Mandatory booking for groups and schools, recommended booking for individual visitors, at the following prices: 1.50 € per person 1 € per student and for discounted family tickets Press Offices Civita Ombretta Roverselli T. +39 0243353527 M. +39 3495925715 roverselli@civita.it www.civita.it Municipality of Milan Elena Conenna Elenamaria.conenna@comune.milano.it