Pompeii posts
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
Mar 28th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
Today the British Museum in London opens what is sure to be the hit exhibition of the year.
"Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" examines the daily life of the Roman world, as it was preserved in two cities buried under volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Through fine art and mundane objects, we get to see what life was like for ordinary Romans.
Romans like ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Nov 4th, 2012 at 1:00PM: I love to travel but I hate to see the sights. Have you ever found yourself running around looking for obscure museums and other tourist attractions while on a trip and wondered what the point was? I prefer to spend my travel time on the road the same way I enjoy my leisure time at home: wandering around, meeting people and indulging my curiosity when I stumble upon something of interest.
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by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Apr 11th, 2012 at 11:00AM: Hard economic times in Italy are threatening that country's priceless cultural heritage.
The Times of Oman reports that billionaire Diego Della Valle said he's thinking of withdrawing the 25 million euros ($33 million) he promised last year to restore the Colosseum, which has been crumbling due to lack of maintenance. An even more serious problem is Pompeii, which suffered a couple of ...
by Chris Owen (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Feb 16th, 2012 at 4:00PM:
Travelers challenged with mobility issues often had to take a back seat to adventure travelers in the past, viewing dreams-of-a-lifetime from a distance. Now, dedicated companies and organizations are making destinations around the planet accessible to all, even in unlikely places.
Visiting Italy's iconic attractions can be a daunting task for the handicapped. Ancient ruins, preserved and ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Dec 31st, 2011 at 10:00AM: Economic instability, a change of government, and now this.
It looks like Italy's most famous landmark, the Colosseum, may be crumbling. The Culture Ministry has launched an investigation after eyewitnesses spotted bits of stone falling off the Roman ruin on two different occasions in recent days.
An Italian shoe company has promised to restore the Colosseum with an ambitious 25 million euro ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Dec 29th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
The ancient goddess of love, sex, and beauty is making an appearance at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Aphrodite and the Gods of Love is a new exhibition examining one of the most popular ancient goddesses and her place in the Classical world. More than 150 ancient works of art are on display, including famous pieces such as the Knidia, a life-size sculpture of Aphrodite made by the ...
by Melanie Renzulli (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Sep 19th, 2011 at 3:00PM:
Few sites in the world hold as much of a morbid fascination as does Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pompeii is one of the most popular places in southern Italy for tourists, who come to view the city's ruins and relics, in particular the preserved bodies of the victims whose last moments were captured in ash. This fall, ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Jul 10th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
Pompeii is an archaeological wonder, an entire Roman town preserved by a volcanic eruption. Now archaeologists are investigating two other "Pompeiis" to learn more about the past.
In El Salvador, a team has discovered a village dating to c. 630 AD that was covered in volcanic ash. Joya de Ceren was sealed up so well that archaeologists have been able to examine corn cobs, the logs used to ...
by Chris Owen (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Jun 25th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
Pompeii is possibly the most famous excavation in the world, drawing 15,000 people every day, almost as many as lived there before the horrifying eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Naples, Italy is the place to be if you want to see the ruins of Pompeii, one of the best examples of a Roman town. It was the fourth stop on Gadling's tour of the Mediterranean last month where we see 8 ...
by Chris Owen (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Jun 11th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
Today's Photo of the Day comes from Flickr user SummitVoice1 who tells us:
"We spent a couple of days in Napoli on our last European trip, wandering the ruins of Pompeii, where the stories of ancient Romans clutching their coins and jewelery while being engulfed by ash served as a reminder - you can't take it with you. And I've always thought that the Napoli-style pizza, thick with ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 years ago)
Jan 23rd, 2011 at 11:00AM: The Colosseum in Rome will get some much-needed repairs thanks to the sponsorship of Tod's, an Italian luxury shoe manufacturer, the BBC reports.
The restoration will cost about 25 million euros ($34 million). The iconic gladiator arena is right next to a busy road in a polluted city, and a subway line runs close by. Many stones have shifted and require bracing, and the whole things needs a ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 years ago)
Dec 9th, 2010 at 2:30PM: Here we go again.
In the fourth incident in a little more than a month, a wall in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii has collapsed, Discovery News reports.
The garden wall surrounding the House of the Moralist, a popular stop for visitors, has toppled. Site managers say heavy rains caused the terrace around the wall to slide down, pushing over the walls. These walls were completely restored ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 years ago)
Dec 4th, 2010 at 12:00PM:
A UNESCO team has arrived at Pompeii to investigate the recent collapses of ancient walls and buildings, All Headline News reports.
Two Roman walls collapsed earlier this week, and in November the House of Gladiators fell down. Authorities blame heavy rains but there's a growing controversy over the lack of maintenance at the site.
The Roman city was buried in ash during an eruption of Mt. ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 years ago)
Dec 2nd, 2010 at 12:00PM: More bad news from Pompeii. The famous Roman city, preserved by volcanic ash from an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, is starting to fall apart.
The BBC reports that two ancient walls have fallen down this week in separate parts of the city.
Officials say the problems are due to heavy rainfall, but the site has been underfunded for years. A recent cash injection was so badly managed that ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 years ago)
Nov 8th, 2010 at 1:30PM:
Italian Archaeologists are enraged at Saturday's collapse of the House of Gladiators in Pompeii. The 40 ft. wide structure had recently undergone reconstruction work on its roof, which might have contributed to its total collapse during heavy rains early on Saturday morning. An even greater culprit may turn out to be the Italian Arts Ministry. The ministry's secretary general, Roberto Cecchi, ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (3 years ago)
May 18th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Visitors to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii are already familiar with the eye-popping art in the brothel, but most miss another naughty site--Pompeii's suburban baths.
The changing room in these baths had cubbyholes for storing clothing. Each one was decorated with lively scenes of straight sex, group sex, oral sex, and just plain acrobatic sex. The example to the right, with two men and one ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (3 years ago)
Dec 4th, 2009 at 8:30AM: The ancient Roman city of Pompeii is the latest addition to Google Street View.
Available from Google's UNESCO World Heritage list of street views, it's the latest addition to a selection of famous sites that includes Stonehenge, Prague's historic center, and the Roman/Medieval Spanish town of Segovia.
Pompeii was a Roman provincial town near the Gulf of Naples in Italy. It was buried by a ...
by Jamie Rhein (RSS feed) (4 years ago)
Dec 21st, 2008 at 5:00PM: I can still picture the Time Life book photograph of a child turned into stone from the eruption of Vesuvius. It was one of those elementary school images that captured my attention and hasn't let go.
Okay, I think it was a Time Life book and I think the photo was a child, but for sure that eruption in Pompeii centuries before I hit 2nd grade has had the power to show just how fragile we are ...