Vesuvio in the Box on display

(ANSA) - Ercolano, July 12 - The exhibition "Vesuvio in the Box" has been inaugurated at the Virtual Archaeological Museum (MAV) in Ercolano, 1,940 years after the volcanic eruption buried ancient Roman Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae and Oplontis.
    The multimedia art show was created by Gennaro Regina, who is represented by the Naples art gallery Voyage Pittoresque Factory.
    Curated by Luca Beatrice, the show tells the story of the Vesuvius eruption through 22 artworks including a video installation on a 60-metre LED wall.
    Visitors to the exhibition are taken into the show's "box", an architectural structure that is an integral part of the artist's vision for the show, where they can admire Vesuvius in all its forms.
    Regina said the video installation, "Rebirth", tells through his work how "destruction by people, facts, and culture is the rebirth of a territory".
    "A rebirth that is due not as much to what happens in politics but to what people manage to do; and at this time we can say that we are experiencing a moment of important rebirth in our territory," Regina said.
    Luigi Vicinanza, president of the CIVES Foundation, which manages MAV, was present at the show's inauguration.
    "Gennaro Regina is an extraordinary artist whose beautiful works combine very well with our Virtual Archaeological Museum's activities," Vicinanza said.
    "He melds tradition with digital narration, the present and future together, just like MAV manages to tell the extraordinary history of Pompeii and Ercolano," he said.
    Ercolano Mayor Ciro Buonajuto said Vesuvius is the "biggest attractor for our city".
    "It should not only be a great tourism opportunity but also an opportunity to create social and cultural return through tourism, and to do this we have to invest in culture," Buonajuto said.
    "Investing in culture means transmitting the beauty of our history and our places to young people, and Gennaro Regina, with his artworks, helps us to move in this direction," he said.
    Vesuvio in a Box is free of charge, open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and runs through September 30, 2019.