After two thousand years, the ancient city of Pompeii still arouses curiosity and wonder. One of the world's largest archaeological sites, despite the bare ruins, is able to drag all its visitors to another dimension and make a journey through time to 79 AD, before the eruption of Vesuvius buried it all under thick layers of magma and ash.
To support the imagination there is the latest scanning technology, through which it was possible to reconstruct entirely a noble house (called “domus”) of Pompeii: the layout of the rooms to the furnishings, while the "virtual visitor" holds center stage, to the point to give the feeling of being there, within it, to spy on the lives of two thousand years ago. The video, produced by a team of international scholars (available on http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4e3_1475703094), shows all the details of the unmistakable style of Pompeii, but also the functional works to facilitate the needs of everyday life. Once coming inside from the front door, in fact, a corridor leads to the atrium, which is a large courtyard, that was the heart of the house. At the center of the atrium there was a small pool, called “impluvium” for collecting rainwater coming through an aperture in the roof, the “compluvium”, also used to illuminate the interior of the house through the sunlight. This system was used until the ancient Romans provided even the city of Pompeii for a water network, to which they connected the noble houses. From that moment the “impluvium” lost its function and became an additional element of decor, with elegant and distinctive notes. The video moves on to the office of the landlord, called “tabularium”, then to the room used to receive guests, with frescoes on the walls, which in recent times have been removed and transported to museums. Outside, a lush garden with fountains was the perfect place to rest in the afternoon. The life of the Pompeiians was marked by the rhythms of the sun. In fact, because of the absence of electricity, the inhabitants had to take advantage of every last ray, and Pompeii began to come alive right from the morning, or perhaps, never slept, so that it can be defined as the "Big apple" of antiquity. The emperor Julius Caesar in fact, to avoid a chaotic traffic during the day, ordered that all the carts had to leave the city before dawn. This law was applied in the main cities of the Roman Empire and, apparently, even at Pompeii. So, for all deliveries and transport they needed to take advantage of the night, and by day Pompeii became a large pedestrian area. However, this law was not considered important by the patricians, because they had many faithful servants. Despite they also woke up very early, they used to have a full breakfast, consisting of bread, cheese, vegetables and leftovers from the day before, consumed in the triclinium, the banquet hall. After that, they went to the spa or the barber and, finally, they went to the Forum, the city's main square, where they could gain information of all kinds, from politics to economics and gossip. This was the life of men who lived two thousand years ago, and, in some aspects, it does not seem so different from today’s life. The video offers a blast from the past and whets the interest, the desire to learn more about this place that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius made eternal and that even today, amazes scholars around the world. Experience the world's first on-site sightseeing tour featuring 3D virtual reality headsets. Book your tour now!
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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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