Fifty thousand square meters of excavations that have been previously closed has been returned to visitors, including a small brothel, the house of Obellius Firmus and the house of Marcus Lucretius Fronto. Pompeii will complete 2016 not only with a huge increase of the amount of visitors that will reach later this year the number of 3.2 million, but also with the re-opening record in a single year. On Wednesday the 7th of December it also was the turn of an unpublished excavation of a totally hidden from the soil area, in addition to the Regio V and IX reopened after the completion of the work of putting in safety interventions thanks to the Great Project Pompeii. The director of the Superintendence Massimo Osanna and the general manager of the Great Pompeii Project Luigi Curatoli, showed a new path available for tours and illustrated the work carried out. The house of Obellius Firmus in Regio IX is one of the main attractions. It was not inhabited at the time of the eruption for the death of the owner: his name is painted on the outside walls and on the walls of the house in front of it near some electoral inscriptions. M. Obellius Firmus died before 79 A.D. and his tomb was found at Porta di Nola. In Regio V tourists now can visit the house of Marcus Lucretius Fronto, where they can find some of the finest ancient Pompeii wall paintings. M. Lucretius Fronto was a member of one of the most prominent families of the Roman city; he arrived here in the Augustan age. This house was also being restored at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae in 79 AD. It has many frescoes with scenes of landscape, garden and animals. The owner was a Pompeian politician, his house was one of the most beautiful in the city, with frescoed rooms and very beautiful paintings, that allow visitors to fully appreciate how the houses of rich Romans were decorated, although located in the province. In one of the rooms there were found the skeletons of five adults and three children killed by the collapse of the roof during the eruption. The domus of Marcus Lucretius Fronto was already partly open (only for groups) at Easter 2014. The third main attraction for visitors is the Small Lupanare (called 'Lupanariello') restored within a building that was probably a place where prostitution was practiced. Four erotic frescoes reveal the nature of the meetings that were held in that space, which had been sealed inside the window to ensure privacy to customers. Finally, from cleaning done by archaeologists in the Regio IX, insula 3, it was found an excavation already used by Pompeii as a kind of 'dump' of building materials. It was found by Giuseppe Fiorelli and left during his excavations in mid 1800. Today, thanks to the restoration of the Great Pompeii Project, has brought to light the floor in signinum of a dwelling probably abandoned after the earthquake of 62 A.D. Join us on a special guided tour of Pompeii. View and book your tour here.
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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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