To mark the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence from the Soviet Union, Rome has opened its doors to an elaborate exhibition on the city of Dvin, the capital of Armenia between the fifth and ninth centuries, according to RomeReporter.

These works of art gives a sense of greatness the society held, displayed by these glass plates and ceramics, crucifixes and pots made of silver and bronze, as well as old coins from the time period and tapestries that tell the life of Christ.

One in particular shows two chapters of the crucifixion and a model of a church sculpted in stone. A bible from the fifth century is also presented, which was the first book written using the Armenian alphabet.

“We wanted to present a small part of the heritage and the high level of the culture that existed. An art in ceremonies, in a manuscript, in the frescoes and in carpet as you have seen the one 'gobelen' of the 8th century of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenia is the first Christian nation in the world, we adopted Christianity in 301. We are also proud to have our small part of some artifacts of the Armenian Church,” Ruben Karapetian, Armenian ambassador to Italy.

During the inauguration, traditional music was played with an Armenian duduk. The exhibition is open to the public until January 29, 2012.