A large exhibition, desired by the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, would have made it possible to proceed with the renovation of large sectors of the Capitoline Museums, without removing the works from public view. The vast spaces of the Centrale Montemartini, punctuated by the gigantic surviving machinery, were considered more suitable than ever to experiment with new museographic solutions.
Acea transformed the premises into a museum, adapting the spaces to their new use and restoring the machines, while the Capitoline Museums curated the archeological exhibition. The two different projects were carried out simultaneously, with great enthusiasm and in complete harmony.
Two diametrically opposed worlds, archeology and industrial archeology, were brought together for the first time by means of a courageous set-up, in which the space was organized in such a way that the existing objects and what was to be shown remained intact and did not distort each other.
In short, a game of contrasts between Machines and Gods, which became the title of the exhibition, opened to the public in October 1997.
The interest of the public and of professionals attracted by the daring juxtaposition experimented in the exhibition consolidated the validity of the new exhibition space, so much so that in 2001 it went from being a temporary experiment to the creation of a permanent venue: the Museo della Centrale Montemartini.
Since then, the museum, a detached branch of the Musei Capitolini, has been enriched with new spaces and new archeological finds, displaying works that had remained in storage for years and had been removed from public view.
In November 2016, following some renovation work, the museum was enlarged with the opening of a new hall, where the famous carriages of the Train of Pius IX are exhibited.