(CC/David Singleton)
Posted on 04/20/2014 6:28:34 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
There is new real state to be seen in the Pompeii, Italy, archaeological site, with three restored houses open to the public.
In time for Easter tourists, three additional houses in the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy, buried in a volcano eruption in 79 A.D., were opened Thursday.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini inaugurated the three restored houses, or domus, in a ceremony at the celebrated archeological site. The houses were formerly occupied by the families of Marcus Lucretius Fronto, Romulus and Remus and Trittolemo, the office of Pompeii’s archeological superintendent said.
Superintendent Massimo Osanna described them as “aristocratic houses.”
The Romulus and Remus house and the Trittolemo house were damaged in World War II bombing raids and never opened to the public until now. The house of Fronto, a prominent politician in 2nd-century Rome, was opened “because it did not require a great amount of resources," Osanna said.
The buildings will be open at least until May 1, when a labor agreement at the site ends.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
(CC/David Singleton)
So they have the house of Romulus and Remus? Can that be correct?
I would hope Italy puts some money into conservation of what has already been excavated.
/johnny
I watched a show about Pompeii several weeks ago. It is amazing what they have been able to find. I like ancient history.
https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-v/reg-v-ins-4/house-of-m-lucretius-fronto
http://www.novaroma.org/nr/File:Lucretius_Fronto_villa_fresco.jpg
https://www.google.com/search?q=Marcus+Lucretius+Fronto&tbm=isch
I heard the back property tax bill is a monster.
So they built on elevated columns?
God help the sleep walkers...
Herculaneum is less well known, and I don’t think much of it is open to tourists. Partly that’s due to the fact that its remains lie under the modern Ercolano; partly it’s due to the fact that the town was covered in pyroclastic flow, and the poison gas is released when the solidified rock is dug out of the ruins, making excavation risky.
But there’s an old Michael Grant book I have around here, uh, somewhere, that covers all the towns to some extent, and Herculaneum’s destruction led to phenomena such as, there are wood doors carbonized by the heat, found in situ, and they still swing on their hinges.
Well, sorta fixer-uppers. Perfect for the new couple just starting out!
I don’t know, seems like balancing the Italian budget to bring it in line with the EU requirements are far more important than preserving irreplaceable unique ancient ruins that, if they were properly conserved, could lead to more income from more tourism. /s
/johnny
I wanted to look into that further, I suspect it was either a house which (as many of them do) has an unknown owner and was named for a piece of art found inside it, such as the House of So-Called Scipio Africanus. Probably there’s a wall painting or mosaic on the floor illustrating the legend.
Ah, here we go — German bombs in 1943:
> In an oecus, the painting described as the birth of Rome showing the wolf with the twins Romulus and Remus was lost. This painting gave the name to the house.
http://www.pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R7/7%2007%2010.htm
A lot of very cool stuff in Italy.
Sure, but if the sleepwalkers are part of the family that owns it, they’ll rectify the problem by beating some slaves.
Looks like the housekeeping service hasn’t been doing its job, hell, most of the town is covered with like 30 feet of dust.
Plus the food. :’) I’d want to spend a few months wandering around the Aegean, Greece, and Turkey, preferably in a small group for safety (but everyone would have to be on the same page, no retro-disco-loving freaks who want every night in glitter-ball clubs in Bodrum), but wind up in Italy. There are lots of nice ruins in Sicily and southern Italy, and the Renaissance stuff in Tuscany, and a little of everything in the Piedmont.
Yeah, and probably the neighbors would be fairly quiet, and if not, probably not worth hanging out to find out what the muffled noise is coming from that 1900 year old pile of debris and ash. ;’)
The Getty museum in California is more or less a replica of one of the houses excavated at Herculaneum. One of the artifacts from the House of Piso is a brazier that stood just inside the front door; the possibility exists (despite the long interval between him and the eruption) that Julius Caesar warmed his hands over it, as he was related (for a while) by marriage to the family there.
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