The Federico II University and the Sun University – Seconda Università di Napoli- have sent 45 students, divided in two groups, to carry out new excavations in the ruins of Pompeii. Since the 18th of July the students are conducting research work on the two most important temples of Pompeii: the Temple of Apollo in the Forum and the Temple of Athena at the Triangular Forum.
This is a project that sees the two universities collaborate with Pompeii Superintendence for the study of cults in the Vesuvian cities. Until the end of August students in shorts and helmets are working in the trenches, digging in search of the oldest phases of the two places of worship, recovering fragments of pottery and painted architectural decorations. The excavations, directed by Professor Carlo Rescigno of the Sun and Massimo Osanna and Carmela Capaldi for the Federico II, has already provided surprising results. Starting with the Temple of Apollo, the excavations have positively established that after the earthquake that struck Pompeii and the Vesuvius area in 62 AD, 15 years before the Plinian eruption, the sacred building had been promptly rebuilt and reopened. "To do this – as the professor Rescigno explained - the columns were raised using different blocks, then they were covered by a thick layer of putty. The tests also highlighted the reuse of the columns damaged by the earthquake to realize the gutters". The excavations (in which the manager is Lia Trapani) continue to give back a lot of ceramics, such as attics craters, Ionian cups, bucchero (made in the Etruscan area), and some remains of painted architectural decorations about the various phases of the sanctuary of Apollo. The Superintendency plans to set up an info-point in the priest's bedroom and, in September, will be issued an announcement for more excavations and works. In the triangular forum, however, the students of the university Federico II are working on the removal of the modern interventions: two wrought floors have already emerged concerning the earlier phases of the sanctuary of Athena. "We found an antefix with two sphinxes dating to late fourth or early third century BC - says the manager Gian Michele Gerogiannis – and some cups. In the project also operate the architects Fernando Giannella and Teresa De Mauro, committed to the ancient architectures. In the opinion of the Professor Rescigno based on the recent finds, the Temple of Apollo was linked to initiation of the children, while the Temple of Athena, associated with the cult of Heracles, marked the entrance of women and men in adulthood. “The two places were strongly bound to each other – as the archaeologist said- and the research will clarify many other aspects about them". So, are you passionate about history and archeology? If yes, you have many reasons to have a beautiful experience by planning a visit in Pompeii. Let’s book one of our special 3D virtual reality tours and enjoy Pompeii and its wonderful treasures!
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The archaeological site of Pompeii joins the big event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, participating in the sporting spirit of the moment with an exhibition of artifacts and information panels that tell about the importance and attention of the ancient Pompeians to the sports practices and body care. Therefore, on the occasion of the opening day of the Olympic Games a showcase with some original instruments used by athletes at the thermal bath was staged at the Antiquarian of the excavations: a bronze “strigilis” (a metal spatula curved to wipe away perspiration), an ointment for the oil, a pumice stone slicker, a bronze ladle for the water. The athletes before and after doing sports activities used to clean their bodies with a thermal bath. This frequent practice has given us many toiletry items, of which some examples are displayed in the exhibition. The athletes of the world evoked by the mosaics and frescoes are rather well told in some areas of the so-called "Gymnasium", located in the district of the Regio VIII of the excavations. From the outside of the building visitors can see in the hallway a beautiful mosaic floor entrance with a fight scene between two athletes facing each other with their bare hands, while on the walls in front of it people can see a painting representing athletes, wrestlers, a jumper with dumbbells, the judge of the race (called Magister Ludi) that is holding the bandage, which is the prize for the winning athlete. This large room that hosts the depictions was actually part of a men's spa facility of the first century A.D. placed in a scenic area of the ancient city. Outside of the "Gym" an information panel will provide a descriptive detail of the environments depictions. The main sports in ancient Rome were: pankration (a mix between boxing and wrestling), wrestling, boxing, running, javelin, discus, shot put, who had been taken as a model by Greece. However, the idea of sport in ancient Rome did not reflect the preference of Greek culture for non-professional athletic activities, bloodless contests concerning not only sports but also different fields of human activities, where the winner received a prize for showing, according to the Greek mentality, his superior physical and moral qualities. Moreover, the nudity of the athletes that among the Greeks was to represent the beauty of sports victory, disturbed sense of Roman modesty. They carried out a substantial revision of costumes of the Greek culture, giving rise to a class of specialists and professionals in sports which everyone could be part of, without distinction of social belonging, as evidenced by the discovery in 1959 of the fifth-century BC tomb of the so-called Athlete of Taranto where emerges social function of the athletic events, no longer tied to religious meanings and demonstration of the primacy of the noble class, but as an expression of a form of entertainment. Finally, according to the modern history of the sport it can be argued that the Romans have perhaps created the modern sport, with its mass spectacles, its mighty clubs and its financial problems. To travel back in time and see how Pompeii once was book a guided tour of Pompeii with us. Let the past come alive all around you! "Campania by night - Archaeology under the stars" the evening opening program of archaeological sites in the region Campania has just began. From Wednesday to Sunday every day until the 17 September. More than 80 events in 5 archaeological sites have been planned with the purpose to promote famous places around the world as the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum or the temples of Paestum and some lesser-known but of great charm such as the Archaeological Museum of Villa Arbusto in the island of Ischia, or the Villa Romana located in Minori on the Amalfi Coast. Pompeii is open from dusk until late at night with guided tours or artistic performances like international dance and music shows.
The event started on the 22nd of July with night walks in the archaeological excavations of Pompeii (scheduled every Thursday and Friday until September 16) to discover some of the recent restorations of the house of Octavius Quartio, the house of the Venus in a Shell with its wonderful frescoes and the complex Praedia of Julia Felix, characterized by a summer dining room decorated with paintings of exotic landscapes. Thanks to the necklights, necklaces with "fireflies" effect lights, that will be distributed to the visitors, people will contribute to create an atmosphere of dynamic lighting along the way. The first stop is at the Palestra Grande, the largest exerciser system of the buried city, to admire the exhibition "Egypt's Pompeii", a collaboration between the Superintendency of Pompeii, the Egyptian Museum and the National Archaeological Museum in Naples and dedicated to cults and the Egyptian elements that spread throughout the Mediterranean. It continues with the domus of Octavius Quartio and Venus in the Shell, and then you get to the wonderful complex of Julia Felix. The route takes visitors into the Palestra Grande where they will find the Arena Artecard, a small modern theater with 200 seats that will host the planned performance: dancing with Igor Bacovich and Iraxte Ansa, Art Garage and Emanuel Gat, concerts and theatrical performances with actors like Daniele Pecci, Anita Caprioli and Roberto De Francesco. The art direction is entrusted to Luigi Gallo. On the same evening the program began also in the Archaeological Park of Paestum, from Thursday to Sunday, until September 11, for 31 events including archeology, nature and history. Open at night in the Archaeological Museum, adjacent to the temples, the exhibition, "Possession. Thefts and false antiquities in Paestum. " Every Saturday until September 17 evening shows are taking place at the Villa Arbusto Archaeological Complex in Ischia where there are some of the earliest evidence of Greek culture in Italy. Starting from the 21st of July after the tour, the site will host performances ranging from folk music to soundtracks, from contamination of Neapolitan melody with the American pop with suggestions of tools that have written the history of classical music. Starring among others Peppe Servillo and the Solis String Quartet, Cristina Donadio and Marco Zurzolo. On the 24th of July (taking place every Wednesday and Sunday until September 14) the event started in Herculaneum with guided tours and the play of "the Pliny Night”: in the story of Pliny the young man visitors live the last night of ancient Herculaneum, with stops at Fornici, the Nonio Balbo Terrace, at the Deer House where the theatrical performance takes place. Along the Decumanus Inferior and Superior IV Cardo visitors have also the access to the Women's Spa and its environment, and they continue to the Shrine of the Augustals, admiring the frescoes and mosaics. On the 30th of July, finally, evening openings of the Villa Romana in Minori on the Amalfi Coast started. Six concerts and three performances will take place as part of the exhibition “Gusta Minori”, inspired by ancient Rome. Book your private evening tour of Pompeii with us! Call us at +39 081 1877 7006 or email us today to make your reservation! Surprises never end in Pompeii! If you are planning a journey to discover the beauty of Pompeii, now you have one more reason to book one of our 3D virtual reality tour of the Pompeii ruins. The furnishings of two Domus Pompeiane were rebuilt as they were before the eruption of AD 79 under the project of "widespread museum " of the archaeological site. In the "Fullonica of Stephanus", an ancient laundry room located along Via dell’Abbondanza, has been rearranged as the kitchen on the model adopted a century earlier by the previous Superintendent Vittorio Spinazzola, documented by a photo archive that dates back to 1916.
In the "Large gym" there are permanently exhibited some organic finds - included in the exhibition "Myth and Nature" that just ended - integrated by an additional section of naturalistic finds from Moregine, a place located near Pompeii. The staging of the "Fullonica of Stephanus" is part of the development project of the Pompeii site, thought as a "widespread museum", which provides spaces located in different points of the ancient city dedicated to specific themes. Part of this project are the examples of the Villa Imperiale, where were rearranged as the domestic environments of the triclinium and the bedroom, and the Temple of Isis, where they retraced the Egyptian cults. The early twentieth century’s layout of the “Fullonica of Sthephanus” responded to an educational policy, very modern for that time, concerning the revival of spaces to put the visitors into contact with the daily life of the ancient city. The visitor could understand the functioning and the organization of the kitchen in the I sec. A.D. with the iron grid for meat still hanging on the wall and the tableware necessary for the preparation and cooking of food placed on the counter. The everyday objects now on display, all come from the deposit of the House of Bacchus and they have been identified through a re-reading of the "Librette Inventoriali", vintage period registers that show the inventory of the number of parts, and which refer to where they were found and provide short descriptions about their use. The "Fullonica of Stephanus" was equipped with large tanks of masonry for rinsing, fed by a continuous water flow. Moreover there were some stone basins used for the dyeing, washing and stain removal, which occurred using particular types of clay or urine. Then there were the Terraces upstairs engaged for the drying and the treatment of the fabrics. While a press (the "torcular") served to stretch the fabric and make it shiny. The finds placed in the two Domus are protected by a tempered glass structure of 13,52 mm, with particular safety precautions in case of accidental breakage, and with an exhaust system of weights to the ground. The structure is made in compliance with the archaeological context, allowing the exchange of air and preventing the formation of harmful micro-climates for the conservation of archaeological finds. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s book your tour and enjoy Pompeii. You can’t miss it! The 8th Italian Movie Awards took place in Pompeii this year from the 1st to the 7th of August. After its presentation at the Italian Pavilion at the 69th Cinema Festival of Cannes, France, the Film Festival came back to the “Cartiera” Mall of Pompeii.
The event began on Monday, August 1st, at 8.30 PM, with the Sicilian actress and presenter of the TV show "Reservoir Dogs", Miriam Leone. Special guest on that day will the Australian actress Emanuelle Bains, known to younger audiences for his role as "Maddy" in the TV series "The Sleepover Club 2". At the end, a film called "A country almost perfect" shot by the Sicilian director Massimo Gaudioso will be shown. From the 2nd to the 4th of August, the Festival also focused on third edition of “Italian Movie Master Class”, a film training course, which is completely free and dedicated to 100 students from 16 to 45 years, in collaboration with The Film School of Naples, Transaudiovideo Italy and Canon. During the lessons the film "Blue Lips" by Antonello Novellino and "Banat" Adriano Valerio was shown, at the presence of their producer Emanuele Naspeca who answered the questions of the spectators. The Master Class ended with the screening of the short films in the category "Short Social World Competition". This last section is dedicated to short films about social issues from all over the world; This year were selected 11 short films from Italy, Spain, Iran, UK, Holland, Germany, Russia and Egypt. On the 5th of August there were one the most awaited guest, the famous Italian actor Raoul Bova. After the red carpet and the interview on the main stage at 8.30 PM, the film "Concussion" directed by Peter Landesman starring Will Smith was projected. This film won the "Silver Vitruvian - Italian Movie Award 2016" for best film about the scientific research. On Saturday, August 6th, at 8.30 PM, the guest star was the Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore. At the end of her show, was projected "Perfect Strangers" of the Italian director and 2014 Italian Movie Award winner, Paolo Genovese. Great closing day on Sunday, August the 7th, from 8.30 PM with three of the actors of the cast of "Gomorrah – The series": Salvatore Esposito (Genny), Cristina Donadio (Scianel), Cristiana Dell'Anna (Patrizia). They are currently shooting the third season of the hit series that will broadcasted on Sky TV in 2017. Scheduled during the evening: the award to the winners of the “Short Social World Competition” category and the award ceremony of the Italian Movie Masterclass 2016. After the awards, there were the exclusive screening of a part of the new documentary "Land of Poison" produced by the Festival, in the presence of the authors Paolo Chiariello and Carlo Fumo and with the collaboration of the scientist Antonio Giordano, the General Sergio Costa and the anti-mafia priest Maurizio Patriciello. The Italian Movie Award, thanks to social issues dealt with over the past six years, received the bronze medal of the President of the Italian Republic, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Visit the ruins of Pompeii and come take a time-travel tour into the ancient past! You can view our tours here. |
AuthorStaff at Flashback Journey to Pompeii. Our goal is to bring you up-to-date information on events, continuing archeological excavations and more on Pompeii. Archives
July 2018
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