by Donald Wood
Last updated: 5:25 PM ET, Wed April 1, 2015
The Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, boasts the second-largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world, and the museum has undergone a major facelift that has taken five years and cost $53.6 million (€50 million).
According to Lizzie Porter of The Telegraph, the Museo Egizio has been open throughout the renovation project, but the expansion of exhibition space has allowed for the re-launch to feature many new artifacts and historical collections.
The museum was originally built in 1824 and is still one of the top spots to visit for Egyptologists, but the Egyptian Museum at Cairo has become the world's top facility for Egyptian artifacts.
The hope from Museo Egizio director Christian Greco is to return the historical landmark to its former glory. Greco told the Associated Press, "Our museum needs to be back on the international scene. For too many years we have been absent. For too many years, the focus has been on building and renovating the museum."
The project now opens all 6,500 objects to the public with better lighting and modern showcases, and the entire museum staff is hoping the expansion draws more visitors. According to The Telegraph, a record 567,000 tourists arrived last year, but Greco's ultimate goal is to surpass 700,000.
The world-renowned collection of artifacts includes a statue of Ramses II, one of the world's most extensive papyrus writing collections, and what amounts to the entire burial chamber of Kha, dating back to 3,500 BC.
The opening of the completed construction project couldn't have come at a better time. The 2015 Expo Milan World's Fair (May 1 to October 31) and an exposition of the Shroud of Turin from April 19 to June 24 should cause an influx of visitors to the area.
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