Blogging Pompeii

Apartment for rent - summer 2012 - good for groups in Vesuvian area

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Court) — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:50:00 +0000

If anyone is looking for accommodation over the summer in the Vesuvian area so that a group can carry out research or fieldwork, this might be of interest:

For more information contact hcp[at]herculaneum.org

BBC Dimensions - Mount Vesuvius

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:28:00 +0000

See Vesuvius superimposed on your hometown (or anywhere else!). Or the Colosseum, or the Great Wall of China, or a bunch of other options. This is pretty cool.

If Mount Vesuvius was found at ...
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano measuring around 1280 meters high with a crater diameter of roughly 700m.

Book offers from L'Erma

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Court) — Mon, 28 May 2012 13:29:00 +0000

Only 2 days left to take advantage of the big discounts offered by (expensive) Italian publisher l'Erma di Bretschneider. Pompeii and Vesuvian publications on offer here.

News article: Pompei. Scavi, nuove opere per lo scolo dell´acqua piovana

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:08:00 +0000

From TorreSette.it:

Pompei. Scavi, nuove opere per lo scolo dell´acqua piovana

Gli allagamenti dopo i temporali primaverili negli scavi di Pompei, incontrano nella centrale via dell’Abbondanza lo snodo critico e la stagnazione per alcuni giorni delle acque eccedenti il normale assorbimento delle caditoie presenti lungo il percorso di discesa dall’area Nord. Bocciato l’espediente di inserire tozzetti di pietra negli spazi vuoti delle passerelle di pietra tra un marciapiede e l’altro, è stata preferita la misura di ostruirli con sacchetti di sabbia. Espediente che non ha risolto il problema L’attenzione della Direzione della Sovrintendenza archeologica, e dei tecnici interni, si sta recentemente incentrando sulla possibilità di creare un regolare scolo delle acque. Al momento la misura si limita alla riattivazione del sottostante ramo del canale Conte di Sarno, che non era stato compreso nel precedente intervento perché scendere sotto via dell’Abbondanza può comportare danni ai coesistenti resti archeologi di età storica anteriore a quella romana.

Read on here.

News articles: Asbestos in Pompeii

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:46:00 +0000

Back in March there were claims that asbestos had been deliberately buried under lapilli at Pompeii. The asbestos issue is now back in the news. The police are investigating claims that employees working in the pre-fabricated offices of the Soprintendenza were exposed to asbestos. The Soprintendente has denied that the health of any employees were put at risk.

Amianto negli Scavi di Pompei. Indagata la soprintendente

Amianto nell'area archeologica di Pompei, avviso di garanzia per il Soprintendente

Pompei: Uilbac, Mibac dia risposte certe su presenza amianto

Pompei: Villari, nessuna sorpresa per avviso di garanzia a soprintendente

Pompei: De Feo, procedere con trasferimento dipendenti soprintendenza

News article: Interrogazione di Borghezio: Pompei in mano a incompetenti, intervenga la Ue

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:07:00 +0000

From Il Mattino:

Interrogazione di Borghezio: Pompei in mano a incompetenti, intervenga la Ue
STRASBURGO. «L'Unione europea intervenga subito per mettere sotto la propria tutela Pompei»: è la richiesta dell'europarlamentare della Lega Nord, Mario Borghezio, contenuta in una interrogazione urgente alla Commissione europea. E' l'ultima sortita dell'europarlamentare leghista, familiarmente detto Obelix (le cui dimissioni erano state reclamate quando, mesi fa, pur condannando senza se e senza ma la strage di Utoya dichiarò comprensione per alcune idee formulate da Brevik) oggi esterna di nuovo, su Pompei.
«La denuncia contenuta nel recentissimo reportage pubblicato sulla copertina dell'inserto culturale di Le Monde - ha detto Borghezio - rappresenta una condanna senza appello dell'incapacità totale delle, si fa per dire, competenti autorità di Roma e di Napoli a tutelare detto patrimonio».

Article: La cronaca dell'eruzione che distrusse Pompei nel 79 dopo Cristo anche in Molise

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:06:00 +0000

And this one is way out there. An inscription found in Molise records a dedication to the domestic lares after the safe return of Rectina. This has been linked to the Rectina who appears in Pliny's letters:

La cronaca dell'eruzione che distrusse Pompei nel 79 dopo Cristo anche in Molise

Article: Geology Scene Investigation: Death by Volcanic Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:57:00 +0000

In Scientific American, an article about the victims of Vesuvius (and the victims of Martinque in 1903), useful for students, perhaps. I particularly like the embedded History Teacher's video - kinda out of place, but still good!

Geology Scene Investigation: Death by Volcanic Fire

News article: Scavi di Oplonti, tesori inestimabili dimenticati nei depositi

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:52:00 +0000

This one a few days old, from TorreSette.it - criticisms of the state of affairs at Oplontis, but nothing new or different.

Scavi di Oplonti, tesori inestimabili dimenticati nei depositi

Opere dimenticate nei depositi delle Soprintendenze e nei magazzini delle biglietterie: scatta la protesta degli archeologi e dei cittadini. Statue appartenenti alla storia, simulacro di tradizione che aiutano a ricostruire una vita passata ma che oggi, come allora, continua ad affascinare. Lo splendore della città oplontina, però, da oltre quarant’anni è stato completamente abbandonato. Una triste sorte che li vede cosi offesi da quegli uomini che senza pietà li lasciano marcire nelle anticamere di bui magazzini. Un viaggio infinito, una vergogna abnorme. Eppure quelle statue un tempo erano il valore aggiunto ed ornamentale che donava non solo spessore a quelle ville ma ancora di più ne caratterizzava lo stile e la sua espressione. Ogni statua, ogni millimetro di quel marmo, di quelle anfore e persino dei set di bellezza suggerivano pezzi di vita quotidiana. Ognuno in momenti particolari, in momenti diversi. La storia di un popolo, la tradizione della gente. Poi l’eruzione, la ricostruzione ed infine il ritrovamento. Step dopo step la ricostruzione, lo studio ma tutto per finire poi dimenticato dal mondo. E’ questa la fine che hanno fatto cosi i reperti che da oltre quarant’anni sono abbandonati nei magazzini della Soprintendenza di Napoli e quella di Pompei. Ma anche nella stessa città torrese.

Read the full article here.

Stabiae in the news today

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:45:00 +0000

Two articles so far:

Castellammare - Ville di Stabiae, Bobbio: ''130 abusi su zona rossa, presto denunce in Procura''

Ville di Stabia, boom di abusi. Bobbio denuncia e attacca le Soprintendenze: "Costruzioni illegali"

Basically, Bobbio, the major, is criticizing both the current condition of the villas at Stabia and the fact that the area around them is being built up (he blames the Soprintendenza for this - but surely it's an issue for the local government? I can't say I understand the local regs, though). He visited the villas on Sunday as part of a local SalvArte initiative.

Cultural Heritage and Human Development on the Dark Side of Vesuvius

noreply@blogger.com (Girolamo Ferdinando De Simone) — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:01:00 +0000

In order to find ways to contribute to the human development of Campania while better caring for the archaeological heritage, the Apolline Project recently hosted Alexander Smithers, a Masters student of Cultural Heritage and International Development currently at the University of East Anglia under the supervision of Dr Akira Matsuda. Research carried out during this visit will form the basis of a management plan intended to further these goals. As the Apolline Project aspires to be as open as possible, we asked him to write a few pages on his findings so far which we have now posted on our website. We have done this in order to stimulate discussion in the area of public archaeology and how it intersects with development issues. We hope that we can start a debate on these pages in response to this, considering the valuable contributions made in this field by many scholars to Blogging Pompeii.

http://www.apollineproject.org/cultural-heritage.html

News article: Silence, Pompéi s'éteint

noreply@blogger.com (Nicolas Monteix) — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:31:00 +0000

A synthesis about the Pompeian situation, from Le Monde.fr:

Nul ne sait depuis combien de temps ils sont là. Ils se prélassent l'été à l'ombre d'un mur, se réfugient l'hiver dans le recoin d'une villa. Ils sont une cinquantaine, peut-être plus. Les chiens errants ont pris possession des ruines et nul, semble-t-il, n'a songé à les en déloger. On a préféré les recenser, leur mettre un collier et leur construire des niches. 130 000 euros ont été dépensés pour cette opération. De temps en temps, un panneau en anglais et en italien rappelle aux visiteurs qu'il est "interdit" de s'en approcher. Peine perdue, ce sont les chiens qui suivent les touristes et non l'inverse. Le matin, avant l'ouverture du site, ils se réunissent devant l'entrée principale de Porta Marina et attendent les groupes de visiteurs et les miettes de leur pique-nique, dont ils se nourriront avant de continuer leur sieste.

Bienvenue à Pompéi, cité deux fois détruite. La première fois, le 24 août 79, lorsqu'un nuage de cendres craché par le Vésuve en éruption recouvrit la ville et ses habitants. " Ce fut la nuit, non comme une nuit sans lune ou nuageuse, mais comme dans un espace clos, toutes lumières éteintes, écrit Pline le Jeune à son oncle Tacite. Tu aurais pu entendre les cris perçants des femmes, les appels au secours des enfants, les cris des hommes ; les uns recherchaient en criant des parents, d'autres leurs enfants, d'autres encore leur conjoint, et tentaient de les reconnaître à la voix." La deuxième, il y a deux cent cinquante ans, lorsqu'elle fut systématiquement fouillée par les archéologues. Depuis, un des plus grands sites archéologiques du monde, inscrit au patrimoine de l'Unesco depuis 1997, se dégrade.

More here.

Herculaneum at Interpret Europe conference

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Court) — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:37:00 +0000

There will be a Herculaneum paper ("Interpretation and sustainability: supporting Herculaneum’s conservation") at the Interpret Europe conference on Monday for anyone interested and in the Pisa area...

Regulations on Leading Tours in Pompeii?

noreply@blogger.com (steph.kelley) — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:49:00 +0000

To the Blogging Pompeii community: I would be ever so grateful to hear from some of you who are in the know about the rules for leading tours in Pompeii. I am interested in leading a tour of a dozen or so folks through the site (next year), but wonder about the legality of such an endeavor — especially considering the power of the tour guides' union! Has anyone had experience with either applying for a tour permit of some sort, or definitively discovering that paperwork is not necessary for this (either formally or "they just didn't seem to mind that I was leading a tour")? If so, what were the general circumstances of your tour (group size, academic affiliation, peak tourist season or off-peak, paying or non-paying customers, what year it was, etc.)? I would appreciate any information you have on the subject.

With warm thanks,
Stephanie Pearson
UC Berkeley

News article: Nola: si seppellirà la Pompei del Bronzo

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:36:00 +0000

From Napoli.com , news that the Bronze Age village at Nola is to be reburied. The prehistoric village at Poggiomarino was reburied earlier this year. Sad news, but given the lack of funds for conservation and the fact that the site is currently flooded it's probably the right decision.

Nola: si seppellirà la Pompei del Bronzo

Sarà interrato il villaggio preistorico di Nola. La decisione di coprire la “Pompei dell’età del Bronzo”, attualmente sommersa dall’acqua di falda, non è priva di polemiche.

Giacomo Stefanile, dirigente ai Beni culturali del Comune di Nola: «soluzione dolorosa: incapacità e immobilismo da parte di Regione, Ministero e Sovrintendenza».

SEPPELLIRE LA POMPEI DEL BRONZO - Grande amarezza da parte dell’associazione Meridies e del comitato per la salvaguardia del villaggio preistorico di Nola che hanno sperato fino alla fine di scongiurare la soluzione dell’interramento del sito archeologico.
Invece, il villaggio di capanne dell’età del bronzo risalente a 4.000 anni fa e distrutto dalla furia dell’eruzione del Vesuvio, sarà nuovamente ricoperto di terra.

Read the full story here.

Quick reminder: Field work dates

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Quick reminder for those planning to be in Pompeii or any of the other sites this summer - please add your field work dates to the Pompeiana.org calendar! Thank you!

Review: Walk like a Roman

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:21:00 +0000

In the Times Literary Supplement, Mary Beard reviews the following:

Timothy M. O’Sullivan
WALKING IN ROMAN CULTURE
200pp. Cambridge University Press. £55 (US $95).
978 1 107 00096 4

Ray Laurence and David J. Newsome, editors
ROME, OSTIA, POMPEII
Movement and space
464pp. Oxford University Press. £75 (US $150).
978 0 19 958312 9

Robert A. Kaster
THE APPIAN WAY
Ghost road, queen of roads
144pp. University of Chicago Press. £14.50 (US $22.50).
978 0 226 42571 9

Walk like a Roman
When the ancient geographer Strabo described the native inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, he listed – with a predictable combination of relish, horror and exaggeration – all kinds of aspects of their weird barbarity. Some of the Spanish tribesmen, he insisted, stored vintage urine in cisterns and then bathed in it, or used it to clean their teeth. Others dressed their women up with iron rods around their necks rather than jewellery. Others, still stranger, appeared to have no gods.
No less remarkable, for Strabo, was the bafflement some of these poor Spaniards felt at the day-to-day habits of their new Roman allies or conquerors. One group of tribesmen, he explained, visiting a Roman camp and seeing some generals taking a stroll, “walking up and down the road”, thought they were “mad and tried to take them back into their tents”, either to sit down and rest, or get up and fight. Despite Strabo’s patronizing tone, it’s one of those rare occasions where we can catch a glimpse of the barbarian point of view on the Romans. The Spaniards presumably thought that walking was something that got a person from A to B (or from tent to battleground). What on earth then were these Roman generals doing as they ambled around, chatting, but not actually going anywhere?
In Walking in Roman Culture, Timothy M. O’Sullivan eloquently explains that how and why a person walked were crucial cultural indicators in ancient Rome: ways of walking divided barbarians from Romans, and good Romans from bad. If this aspect of Roman culture has not often bulked large in modern studies of the ancient world, that is partly because – as O’Sullivan notes – we have chosen not to recognize it, or have even actively “translated it away”. The key Latin word is incessus, which literally means “gait” or “how a person moves on their feet”. It is now regularly translated as “bearing” or “demeanour”; but that removes all the sense of movement from it. “He has a noble bearing” may seem to us a more “natural” thing to say than “He has a noble way of walking”. It is not often what the Romans said, wrote or meant. In ancient Rome how you walked was a sign of who you were. Quite simply, it could be an indication of paternity. When people wondered whether Cleopatra’s child, young Caesarion, really was the son of Julius Caesar, they pointed to his walk (incessus) as much as to his facial features. Gait ran in families. Think, for example, how often those Roman family names (often derived – like Crassus, “Fatty”, or Rufus, “Redhead” – from physical characteristics) referred to feet or to odd ways of walking: Plautus, “flat-footed”; Valgus, “bow-legged”; Varus, “knock-kneed”. As O’Sullivan observes, “‘a family gait’ was no less distinctive than ‘a family nose’”.

Read the full review here.

Oebalus. Studi sulla Campania nell' Antichità 6/ 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:27:00 +0000

The latest Oebalus is now out and can be purchased from Bardi Editore.

Oebalus. Studi sulla Campania nell' Antichità 6/ 2011

Senatore Felice (a cura di)
ISBN: 978-88-66870-10-4
ISSN: 1970-6421

INDICE
1. Raimon Graells i Fabregat, Tre cascos Italo-Calcídicos de la antigua colección Marqués de Salamanca en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Madrid.
2. Gianluca Soricelli, Bolli oschi su tegola dall’area del lago del Matese.
3. Stefania Tuccinardi, Fregi dorici da monumenti funerari della Campania settentrionale: la documentazione alifana.
4. Giuseppe Camodeca, Porcii Catones e Tullii a Nola in una iscrizione tardorepubblicana erroneamente ritenuta falsa (CIL X 181).
5. Heikki Solin, Nuove iscrizioni di Capua III.
6. Eliodoro Savino, Progetti di viaggio in Oriente di Nerone nel 64 d.C.

7. Domenico Esposito, Su un possibile praedium imperiale a Stabiae.
8. Sergio Cascella, Due crateri di M. Perennius dagli scavi del Teatro Romano di Sessa Aurunca.
9. Armando Cristilli, Surrentum ductus amoenum. Sculture in marmo dalla «c.d. Villa di Agrippa Postumo» a Sorrento.
10. Eduardo Federico, Pithekoussai-Capri e ritorno. Sull’itinerario scientifico di Giorgio Buchner.
11. Angelo Russi, Gli esordi scientifici e accademici di Giulio Beloch (dal carteggio inedito Beloch-Bailey).

Recensioni: J.-P. Brun, M. Gras (edd.), Avec Jean Bérard, 1908-1957. La colonisation grecque, l’Italie sous le fascisme (Erminia Aimone). - AA.VV., L’histoire comme impératif ou la «volonté de comprendre». Actes du colloque en hommage à Jean-Pierre Vernant et Pierre Vidal-Naquet (Naples, 24-27 novembre 2008) (Carmine Pisano). - A. Pontrandolfo, A. Santoriello (edd.), Fratte. L’area a vocazione artigianale e produttiva (Helga Di Giuseppe).

News article: Beni culturali, accordo per il distretto archeologico Pompei-Sarno

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:05:00 +0000

From Metropolis Web:

Beni culturali, accordo per il distretto archeologico Pompei-Sarno

Comuni di Pompei e Sarno e la Soprintendenza di Salerno, Avellino, Benevento e Caserta, nella sala di rappresentanza del Comune di Pompei, hanno siglato un protocollo d'intesa per la creazione di un 'Distretto Archeologico Culturale', volto a valorizzare le ricchezze culturale del loro territorio.

Le due città intendono realizzare un progetto di promozione culturale del proprio patrimonio archeologico, attraverso la consapevolezza che è indispensabile innescare un meccanico virtuoso del settore turistico, ovvero azioni comuni capaci di mettere a sistema le risorse, creare una rete di servizi di qualità, tutelare e promuovere il territorio.

Read the full article here.

Roman roof at Herculaneum

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Court) — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:58:00 +0000

For those who missed last night's British School at Rome event (the Herculaneum Conservation Project team presented the discovery and reconstruction of a Roman timber roof and its decorated ceiling), you can get a glimpse of Herculaneum's latest treasure in the Sole 24 Ore newspaper.

Doric entablatures at Pompeii?

noreply@blogger.com (James Andrews) — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:52:00 +0000

Quick question for a Friday afternoon! Does anyone know of any Doric entablatures at Pompeii in a domestic context? In situ or otherwise...

Hope you can help!

James

Telephus Roof Project - presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Court) — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:42:00 +0000

For anyone in the Rome area on Monday, please come to a presentation by the Herculaneum Conservation Project at the British School at Rome (18.00, Via Gramsci 61).

The Telephus Roof Project: considerazioni preliminari sul rinvenimento di un tetto di legno ad Ercolano
The team will describe the discovery of a unique Roman timber roof found on Herculaneum's ancient shoreline where it had collapsed down from the House of the Telephus Relief in the AD79 eruption. The roof covered the house's so-called Marble Room and the presentation summarizes research on the roof structure and its decorated ceiling. The presentation will be in Italian but the presentation will be richly illustrated with the very exciting visual results of the Telephus Roof Project.

Pompeii & Herculaneum: Rediscovering Roman Art & Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Berry) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:44:00 +0000

This is happening today and tomorrow - sorry not to have picked it up sooner ...

Pompeii & Herculaneum: Rediscovering Roman Art & Culture
April 27 and 28, 2012

At the height of the Roman Empire in 79AD, a massive volcanic eruption from long-silent Mount Vesuvius tragically destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, creating an archaeological snapshot of everyday life in two very different towns. Buried, lost, and forgotten for centuries, the ruins of the bustling city of Pompeii and the nearby seaside resort of Herculaneum were accidentally rediscovered in the eighteenth century, triggering a wave of popular excitement about Roman art and culture and providing an inexhaustible resource for archaeological research. Ongoing scientific excavations and art historical investigations continue to offer fresh insights into ancient daily life and culture, the nature of Roman urbanism, how we understand the distant past, and how that past influences the modern world.Presented in collaboration with Consul General of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Center for Modern Greek Studies and the Classics Department, San Francisco State University

Friday, April 27, 2012, 7:30 to 10:00 pm

Introductory Remarks. Patricia Lundberg and Michael Anderson

The Re-Discovery and Excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Gary Devore (Classics, Stanford University). The history of excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum is the history of the Italian nation, and also of the discipline of archaeology. The ruins of the cities destroyed in 79 CE by Mount Vesuvius were discovered and explored by antiquarians whose groundbreaking work contributed to the development of modern scientific excavation techniques. As evocative examples of daily life in the Roman Empire, Pompeii and Herculaneum also became important symbols for the recently unified Italian nation in the 19th century. Dr Devore will give a short account of the destruction and rediscovery of both ruined cities, and show how developments in archaeological methodology and nationalistic goals united to elucidate this unique insight into the ancient Roman world.

Double Performance.

The Scarlattis.
Anne-Kathryn Olsen (Soprano), Danielle Reutter-Harrah (Mezzo-Soprano), Susie FongHarpsichord), Hallie Pridham (Violoncello).

Cantatas of Alessandro Scarlatti, Founder of Neapolitan School of Opera
(Naples, 1660-1725). Introduced by Kip Cranna.
Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti) (Naples, 1685 – Madrid,1757). Arranged by the Italian Cultural Institute and introduced by Luciano Chessa.

Saturday, April 28, 2012, 10:00 am to noon and 1:30 to 4:00 pm

The Economic Life of Pompeii.
Theodore (Ted) Peña (Classics, UC Berkeley). Pompeii provides far and away the richest body of evidence regarding the complex set of structures that characterized economic life in the Roman world. After providing an introductory overview of what we know about the economy of Pompeii, Professor Peña focuses on three topics chosen to illustrate some of the more important aspects of economic activity in the town and its surrounding territory. These include the large-scale production of wine for the export market, as evidenced by the Villa Regina and Villa B at Oplontis, the production of craft goods for local consumption, as evidenced by the Porta di Nocera pottery workshop, and finance, as evidenced by the archive of business records detailing the activities of the banker Caecilius Iucundus.

Ongoing Archaeological Research in Pompeii and Herculaneum: Perspectives from the Via Consolare Project.
Michael Anderson (Classics, SFSU). Such is the wealth of information at Pompeii and Herculaneum that significant questions yet remain to be answered, and the sites continue to be the focus of numerous international projects of archaeological research. Interest has recently centered on sub-surface excavation undertaken to explain how these sites developed and changed throughout their histories. Professor Anderson presents an overview of current archaeological research at Pompeii and Herculaneum, especially from the perspective of recent results of the Via Consolare Project in Pompeii, a project run from San Francisco State University, designed to augment and interconnect ongoing research by means of targeted excavation and architectural analysis at either end of one of the most important Pompeian thoroughfares.

Lunch Break 12-1:30

Stephanie Pearson (UC Berkeley) introduces us to The House of Julius Polybius in Pompeii: the Altair4 Reconstruction. The House of Julius Polybius comes to life again thanks to an elaborate process of visual restoration achieved by Alessandro Furlan and his team at Altair 4 Multimedia of Rome for Professor Masanori Aoyagi of the University of Tokyo. Tens of alfrescos were digitally restored and the house reconstructed virtually, with the dynamics of the Vesuvius eruption and its impact on the house enhanced. A tridimensional technique leads the spectator to discover the rooms of the house, in all their details, including the exact position of everyday objects, precisely as they were found. The visitor experiences a house that is still "alive", just a minute before the catastrophe. Some rare historical pictures showing the house at the moment of its rediscovery have been superimposed and then taken away from the corresponding virtual images: this leap in time allows for the understanding and confronting of what has really remained of the house and what has been virtually reconstructed.

If These Walls Could Speak: The Paintings of Pompeii. Lisa Pieraccini (Art History, UC Berkeley). From the Villa of the Mysteries to the House of the Vetti, Pompeian painting reveals a rich world of interior décor that speaks to us not only of fashionable painting styles and popular myths, but of the very owners who commissioned the paintings. Close examination of the interior decoration of Pompeian homes and villas shows how home owners expressed their personal beliefs and social aspirations through the subject matter chosen to decorate their walls. Likewise, public buildings and tombs provide examples of paintings used to advertise not only one’s business, but ultimately, one’s social status and social aspirations. Professor Pieraccini provides an analysis of a select group of both private and public paintings that reveal the competitive and intricate world of"display" in Pompeii.Panel Discussion with all Presenters and written questions from the Audience.

Related Events

The Ancient Roman World in Film
Gary Devore (Classics, Stanford)
April 2, 2012, Noon
Commonwealth Club of California
595 Market Street, SF

Step back in time with a director of Pompeiian excavations, as Gary Devore explores how we continually re-imagine Romans through film. "Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) uses Roman political decline to comment on then current politics and race relations in America. "Spartacus" (1960) is Kubrick's attempt to revitalize the left after the McCarthy era. "Gladiator" (2000) is a hyper-masculine answer to feminism's recent triumphs. Fellini's "Satyricon" (1968) riffs on how Mussolini (and others) ransacked ancient history. And then there's always "Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979).

RSVP: commonwealthclub.org
In association with the Humanities Member-Led Forum.
$8 members, $20 public

A Day in the Life of an Archaeologist at Pompeii
Stephanie Pearson (History of Art, UC Berkeley)
A Humanities Member-Led Forum
April 26, 2012, 6 pm
Commonwealth Club of California
595 Market Street, SF

We all know that archaeology in the real world does not closely resemble an Indiana Jones movie. But then what is it like? Understanding the archaeological process by which we gain knowledge about the ancient Roman world is as important as understanding the remains themselves; indeed, the process profoundly affects our interpretation of the ancient evidence. The steps involved in conducting an excavation are numerous but straightforward, and in this talk Ms. Pearson explains and illustrates a selection of them by drawing on her own experience working with the Via Consolare Project in Pompeii. From setting up a home base for the archaeological team, to acquiring the necessary supplies in a foreign country, to framing the goals and research questions, to excavating and processing artifacts, to closing up and preparing for next year - this is a day in the life of an archaeologist at Pompeii.

$8 Commonwealth Club members
$20 non-members

Humanities West Book Discussion with Lynn Harris
The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost & Found by Mary Beard

Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. In The Fires of Vesuvius, acclaimed historian Mary Beard explores what kind of town it was—more like Calcutta or the Costa del Sol?—and what it can tell us about "ordinary" life there. From sex to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy, Beard offers us the big picture even as she takes us close enough to the past to smell the bad breath and see the intestinal tapeworms of the inhabitants of the lost city. She resurrects the Temple of Isis as a testament to ancient multiculturalism. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica.

April 4, 2012
5:30 to 6:30 pm
Board Room, Commonwealth Club of San Francisco
595 Market Street.
RSVP: commonwealthclub.org
Co-Sponsored by the Humanities Member-Led Forum
Free to Members of Commonwealth Club
$5 for non-members

Fireside Chat with George Hammond
A Notre Dame/Paris Preview

Note New time:
April 24, 2012
6:30 pm
Orinda Library, Orinda
Free

Humanities West Book Discussion with Lynn Harris
The Last Days of Pompeii by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton

From the author famous for his opening line "It was a dark and stormy night . . ." we will examine the classic Victorian tale of the last days of Pompeii, doomed city that lay at the feet of Mount Vesuvius. From poets to flower-girls, gladiators to Roman tribunes, here is a plausible story of their lives, their loves, and the tragic fate that awaited them.

May 9, 2012
5:30 to 6:30 pm
Board Room, Commonwealth Club of San Francisco
595 Market Street.
RSVP: commonwealthclub.org
Co-Sponsored by the Humanities Member-Led Forum
Free to Members of Commonwealth Club
$5 for non-members

Primo Maggio 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Court) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:18:00 +0000

Tuesday 1st May you can visit many state museums for only one euro.
Again this year, for Workers' Day, the Ministry of Culture is offering both Italian and international visitors the chance to know and rediscover our significant cultural and artistic heritage at a token price. More information and listing of museums and sites here.

Martedi 1° maggio molti musei statali saranno visitabili al costo di un solo euro.

Anche quest’anno dunque il MiBAC in occasione della festa dei lavoratori offre la possibilità a tutti gli italiani e ai turisti stranieri di conoscere e riscoprire il nostro grande patrimonio culturale e artistico ad un prezzo simbolico.
Per ulteriori informazioni e l'elenco dei musei e dei siti archeologici, cliccare qui.

Another collapse: Regio V

noreply@blogger.com (Massimo Betello) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:32:00 +0000

Another collapse in Pompeii. And I was there just the day before.
From Repubblica.it
The journalist does not specify which house: he says that it is a house without a name in Regio V, already closed to the public.