Pompeii is alive and unveils six new restored villas
Pompeii is still alive and unveils new treasures
Recently 6 new restored domus have been found in this bottomless archeological treasure chest. Near the coast of the bay of Naples, in the Campania region, once stood a flourishing and refined Roman city, catastrophically buried beneath meters of ash and pumice after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. The extraordinary archaeological site is one of the most visited and appreciated in the whole world and conceals millennia of history, art, culture and stories that paradoxically have remained quite intact thanks to the remains that had covered them.
Jewels, objects, utensils and bodies over the centuries have been found out during excavation works, that have been bringing to light inestimable pieces of art and history. Now what came back to light are 6 domus, that is ancient dwellings with different peculiarities that show an extraordinary cross-section of the life in the roman city in the years before the fatal eruption. Spaces that tell stories about the richest and most privileged people like the owner of the Domus dell’Efebo, where luxury and magnificence are expressed in top quality finishes and a lovely garden where impressing graffiti, very “hip” at that time, are mixed with erotic paintings.
Amazing drawings on the mosaic floor of the Paquius Proculus domus, but also colors tracks at the Fullonica di Stephanus that offer a picture of the work inside the lab of Stephanus, a rich and powerful dyer. But doesn’t end here: bathhouses, a merchant’s lavish house, a thermal bathing structure and a business that sold fabric. The journey continues through intricate mosaic tiles and intact and colorful pillars and amphoras like the ones found inside the Casa del Criptoportico or even a press set up equipment inside the Fullonica di Stephanus.
The jump back in roman empire time goes on domus to domus with Casa del Sacerdos Amandus with painting portraying heroic enterprises, or the near Casa di Fabius Amandio, an example of middle-class dwelling. Restored by the “Grand Pompeii Project”, these six new villas reopened to the public offer a peek into the past at the Unesco World Heritage site and a precious discovery worthy a visit to the already stunning Pompeii, the city of ruins.
