- POMPEII, APRIL 21 - It is much more than an intriguing display of statues and images inspired by myths and erotic scenes in ancient Pompeii, "Art and sensuality", the exhibition inaugurated today in the Palestra Grande of the Archaeological Park, which will remain open until January 15th.
"We are not fans of special exhibitions because we believe that the whole site should be an exhibition to visit. And this exhibition is meant to be an introduction to the site with the omnipresent theme of sensuality," explains the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel.
Paintings and sculptures in Pompeii have always aroused curiosity and embarrassment among archaeologists and visitors who found themselves in the presence of phallic symbols and scenes of explicit intimacy on the external facades of the houses, but also in taverns, taverns, and on the paving stones of ancient streets, with the function of indicating the way to reach the brothel, and also the thermal baths.
The statues, everyday objects and representations on display - according to the curators - will serve this purpose.
That is, they will be pointers that will transform visitors into hounds in search of those images in their original environments.
The exhibition, therefore, refers to the visit of the entire site, with a new awareness.
The itinerary is conceived as a visit to a prototype of a Pompeian villa, Zuchtriegel points out, "with the works of art it contains, coming from different places and from the deposits of thousands of valuable artifacts, some of which have been forgotten over the years. '90 ".
And there are objects exhibited for the first time such as the silver medallions of the splendid wedding chariot found in the villa of Civita Civita Giuliana.
At the inauguration of the exhibition, curated by Zuchtriegel together with Maria Luisa Catoni, teacher at the Scuola Imt Alti Studi in Lucca, the procurator of Torre Annunziata, Nunzio Fragliasso, also intervened, illustrating the most recent investigation techniques to stop the theft of archaeological finds and prevent the stolen finds from ending up on clandestine markets.
While Zuchtriegel recalled that for the excavations of the large estate of Civita Giuliana, the result of a project shared with the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor's Office launched in 2017 precisely to stop the massacre of grave robbers, the Pompeii Park is allocating 1 million euros a year. .
The book "Hidden World of Pompeii" was presented on this intertwining of investigations and discoveries, written by the former director of Pompeii Massimo Osanna with the archaeologist Luana Toniolo (Rizzoli) where the adventure of the excavations of Civita Giuliana is told.
Another volume will instead guide children in their approach to the scabrous figures exhibited in the exhibition, accompanying them in the ancient myths represented.
The volume leaves room for parents with a warning ("Images with explicit content") so that they can decide whether to overlook the topic or provide explanations to their children.
At the entrance, a white marble statue of Priapus opens the path, which for the Romans was a symbol of prosperity and fertility.
You can then admire the bedroom (Cubiculum) of Villa Carmiano, found in Gragnano (Naples), two statues of hermaphrodites and statues of centaurs.
With the "My Pompeii" App you can follow an itinerary to discover the various buildings of the archaeological site characterized by frescoes and references to the theme of the exhibition.
(HANDLE).