In the archaeological excavation area of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city tragically destroyed by one of the eruptions of Vesuvius in AD 79 was unearthed. Already a few years earlier—in 62 AD—a terrible earthquake, a precursor to the much more severe catastrophe that would strike the city a few years later, affected Pompeii and the city of Herculaneum, as well as other centers in Campania. Pompeii was severely damaged, but reconstruction began immediately. Seventeen years later, while work continued at a steady pace (and even though the public buildings were still almost entirely unrestored), the city and its inhabitants experienced one of the greatest tragedies of ancient history. Ash and lapilli buried Pompeii, crystallizing the city in time and in that moment, which today, brought back to the surface, has become the second most visited archaeological site in the world.
The Eruption From dawn on August 24 of that year 79, a large pine-shaped cloud appeared over Vesuvius. By ten in the morning, the gases pressing from inside caused the solidified lava that obstructed the volcano’s crater to explode, reducing it to countless fragments, the lapilli, which were hurled over Pompeii, along with a rain of ash so thick it obscured the sun. Amid terrible seismic shocks and emissions of toxic gases, the city ceased to exist that same day, remaining buried for centuries under more than six meters of ash and lapilli. It is estimated that of the approximately ten thousand inhabitants Pompeii had at that time, about two thousand were victims, some poisoned by gases during their escape, others crushed in their own homes by roofs that collapsed under the weight of the lapilli. The city was almost forgotten, to the point that, when in the late 16th century the architect Domenico Fontana, while constructing a diversion channel of the Sarno, discovered some inscriptions and even buildings with frescoed walls, he did not recognize them as the remains of ancient Pompeii.
The Excavations The first real excavations in the area of Pompeii began in 1748 by the will of King Charles of Bourbon, although they were rather irregular and did not follow any scientific method. Often, buildings gradually brought to light were stripped of objects and artworks and then re-covered. In the first half of the 19th century, work proceeded much more swiftly, exploring many private buildings and almost the entire Forum. From 1860, with the advent of the Kingdom of Italy, the works entrusted to the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli were conducted with systematicity and rigorous scientific method. Fiorelli also conceived the possibility of making casts from the eruption victims by pouring liquid plaster into the void left by the bodies, now dissolved, in the solidified ash: these casts, in the Antiquarium of Pompeii, constitute one of the most tragic testimonies of the catastrophe. Today, Pompeii appears to us in almost its entire extent and takes us back to the day when fate stopped the course of its history. The electoral graffiti on the walls, the household furnishings, the shops, everything still seems alive: the tragedy of Pompeii did not destroy the city, it just stopped time to return it to us with the appearance it had on that precise day of 79. The date of the eruption of 79 is known through a letter from Pliny the Younger in which it reads nonum kal. septembres, meaning “August 24.” This date was contained in the variant universally considered the most reliable of the manuscript and has been accepted as certain to this day, although some archaeological data that have emerged over time did not match a summer date. Archaeobotanical and archaeological data that have been analyzed in recent years have confirmed that the date of August 24 is definitely incorrect, and the ancient eruption must be placed at least after September 8 and considering other archaeological data (like the confirmed conclusion of the grape harvest), it is plausible to hypothesize an even later and fully autumnal date.
The Antiquarium The Antiquarium of Pompeii, founded in 1861 and destroyed by bombing during the last world war, was rebuilt in 1948 according to modern museographic criteria, to offer as complete a picture as possible of the city’s history. In the entrance are placed some sculptures from Pompeian buildings, while on the walls are paintings from the Portico of the Triclinia. The first room houses artifacts from pre-Samnite Pompeii: particularly interesting is the material from the Iron Age necropolis (9th-8th century BC) of the Sarno Valley; on the walls are placed architectural terracottas from temples; fragments of bucchero, Attic and Corinthian pottery found in the area of the Temple of Apollo are placed in a display case at the back of the room. The second room holds a figured tufa pediment from a prostyle temple of the 3rd-2nd century BC that stood on the hill of Sant’Abbondio; in the center of the pediment is a thyrsus adorned with bands, with Dionysus-Liber on the left and Libera, semi-reclining, on the right; in the extreme corners of the pediment, from Libera’s side, are depicted an Eros supporting a fan and a goose; from Dionysus’s side, a Silenus and a panther. In front of the pediment is placed the tufa altar found opposite the temple: engraved, on both sides, an Oscan inscription with the name of the aedile Maras Atiniis, who had dedicated it thanks to the money obtained from fines. On the sides of the room are admired some figured tufa capitals of the 3rd-2nd century BC from some houses of Via Nolana. The cloaked statue of Livia, depicted as a priestess, was found in the Villa of the Mysteries. The room also displays some portraits, including one of Marcello, nephew of Augustus, and two hermae, respectively of Vesonius Primus and Gaius Cornelius Rufus. The third room is reserved for Pompeian household utensils: in the center is a bronze basin from the House of Menander. In the middle of the fourth room, illustrating the commercial and economic life of Pompeii, are the models of the Portico of the Triclinia and the rustic villa of Boscoreale, which included the master’s residence, a bakery, a grain mill, presses for wine, an oil press, a barn, a wine cellar, and housing for the slaves. In the display cases are numerous work tools, charred remains of food, stoves, lanterns, and surgical instruments. In the Antiquarium, there are also some dramatic plaster casts of the victims of the eruption.
Must See • Marina Gate • Imperial Villa • Antiquarium • Forum • Basilica • Temple of Apollo • Temple of Jupiter • Macellum, Temples of the Lares and of Vespasian • Building of Eumachia • Lupanar (brothel) • Via dell’Abbondanza • Triangular Forum • Great Theatre • Odeon • Samnite Gymnasium • Temple of Isis • Temple of Jupiter Meilichios • Stabian Baths • House of Marcus Lucretius • Central Baths • House of the Faun • Temple of Fortuna Augusta • Forum Baths • House of the Tragic Poet • House of Pansa • Street of Tombs and Villa of Diomedes • Villa of the Mysteries • Street of Mercury • House of the Labyrinth and House of the Vettii • House of the Golden Cupids • House of the Silver Wedding • House of Lucius Caecilius Jucundus • House of the Citharist • House of Menander • Thermopolium of Asellina • Houses of Insula VII • House of Octavius Quartio • Villa of Julia Felix • Amphitheatre • Great Gymnasium
