Posted on 11/21/2005 6:30:58 PM PST by blam
Villa buried by Pompeii eruption is unearthed
By Hilary Clarke in Rome
(Filed: 22/11/2005)
An archaeological dig on the Amalfi coast has revealed the first luxury villa to be built in the idyllic fishing village of Positano, a popular haunt of today's rich and famous.
A frescoe on a wall of the villa found in Positano
Two storeys of a first century millionaire's abode have been found under a church which was hidden for 2,000 years by the same volcanic eruption that devastated Pompeii in 79AD.
During renovation work on the church's crypt last summer, roof beams were found poking up just a few inches down.
They revealed an enormous building that certainly would have belonged to an important person in Imperial Rome.
A subsequent initial dig by archaeologists unearthed, about 6ft below the ground, two storeys of remarkably brightly-coloured wall frescoes and marble mosaics of mythical characters. They had been perfectly preserved.
The villa, which looked directly out on to the Mediterranean, is believed to have several terraces although more digs will be needed to see exactly how far it stretches.
Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian film-maker, is the most famous latter-day Positano villa-owner.
Past residents include Rudolph Nureyev, the ballet dancer, and Napoleon's marshall and later king of Naples, Joachim Murat. The American writers John Steinbeck and Tennessee Williams were frequent visitors to Positano.
GGG Ping.
Hello Dali.
Sweeeeet!
Nothing so romantic as history.
Thats cool.
Remember in the 80s that Nat'l Geographic did a impressive story of Pompeii and Herculaneam (sp?). Did a large college report based upon that story. The whole story of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneam still impresses me.
BTW the Getty Villa is reopening in one month.
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If you ever get a chance to go to Italy, do NOT miss visiting these two towns -- so very fascinating, I cannot describe ...
Whatta find...impressive on all counts.
Neat. I hope they have more pics of the various frescoe's. Sure would like to see them in real life.
Wow. That is gorgeous. What a find. Hope they're taking better care of their sites these days.
My family and I were there this summer. This makes me want to go back. Ephesus was my favorite, however. Pompeii was a close second.
I need a vacation, I think this is the ticket.
Is Ephesus another town in the area covered in 79 A.D. by Vesuvius that they have excavated??
Ephesus is nowhere near Vesuvius. Rather, it was a large city in Asia Minor (in modern-day western Turkey) that was very important in the New Testament church.
Thank you for clarifying that ...
It made other stops as well but none as memorable as Ephesus, Pompeii and Athens and Corinth.
We took a Mediterranean cruise. I recommend it highly. I dream of returning. I need to visit Ephesus again. I can't get it out of my mind.
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