Entitled Una Regina polacca in Campidoglio: Maria Casimira e la famiglia reale Sobieski a Roma, the show runs until September 21.
Among the highlights are two sculpted busts of Marie Casimire and a bust of Pope Clement XII, normally housed at the Ursuline Convent in the Italian capital.
According to art conservation experts from Poland’s Polonica Institute, which works to preserve Polish cultural heritage abroad, the busts had not been studied for many years. They are now attributed to Filippo della Valle, one of the most prominent Italian sculptors of the 18th century.
Also on display are three 17th-century oil paintings by unknown artists: two portraits of King Jan III Sobieski and one of Marie Casimire, also known as Marysieńka.
All five works were recently restored by the Polonica Institute.
"It is a privilege for us to play a part in organizing this extraordinary event in the heart of Rome," said Katarzyna Sokołowska, director of the Polonica Institute, in comments to Polish state news agency PAP.
"Working closely with our Italian partners, we’re helping to revive the memory of the Sobieski family’s connection to the Eternal City and of Queen Marie Casimire—a patron of the arts and one of the most fascinating figures in the history of both countries," she added.
The exhibition is a joint effort by the Capitoline Museums, the University of Warsaw's Department of Archaeology, the Museum of King Jan III Sobieski in Warsaw, and the Polonica Institute.
Born in 1641, Marie Casimire was a French noblewoman who became Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania through her marriage to King Jan III Sobieski of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She died in 1716.
(mk/gs)