An exhibition testifying to
the many cultures that have left their mark on the ancient city
of Pompeii from its foundation to its destruction in the
eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 opens in the Large Gymnasium on
Wednesday.
'Pompei e i Greci' (Pompeii and the Greeks), running until
October 31, explores the stratification of and sometimes
contradictory relationship between the cultures of the ancient
Italic peoples, Etruscans, Greeks and Romans that traversed its
history.
"The exhibition narrates the history of the ancient
Mediterranean to show that this basin was a place of mobility,
meetings and trade and to reflect on the phenomenon of
contemporary emigration," said Pompeii Superintendent Massimo
Osanna, who has curated the exhibition together with Carlo
Rescigno of Campania's 'Luigi Vanvitelli' University.
The exhibits, coming from leading Italian and European
museums, are displayed in 13 themed sections exploring places
and monuments of the ancient city.
The outfitting is the work of minimalist architect Bernard
Tschumi, who designed the display at the Museum of Athens.
In total 600 artefacts - ceramics, ornaments, weapons,
architectural elements, sculptures, inscriptions, items of
silver - are on display.
The exhibition also includes three multimedia installations
with wall projections, including one representing the 474 BC sea
battle of Cumae.
Specially trained guides will accompany visitors around the
exhibition in the absence of detailed written explanations.
The most interesting pieces on display include the Aphrodite
Sosandra from Baiae, testifying to the Greek taste in the
patrician villas; the inscriptions in Greek and Latin from
Moregine, which show how two spoken languages were used in
trade; and an original Greek hydria dating from the fifth
century BC excavated in the House ofJulius Polybiusin Pompeii.
The artefacts together show that the city of Pompeii was
"international in style and decoration, which reveal a global
language," Professor Rescigno explained.
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