When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, the Roman seaside towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the surrounding area were engulfed by volcanic material. Since that time up until the 18th century, Herculaneum was buried under a layer of volcanic material more than 15 meters (50 feet) thick at the base of Vesuvius.
The remains of the buried city were first discovered in 1709 and explored mainly by tunnels during the 18th and 19th centuries. The site’s many richly decorated public buildings, houses and theater have yielded fine marble and bronze sculptures, wood elements, and paintings. Of particular significance, an extensive library of charred papyrus rolls was found at the Villa of the Papyri (a lavish residence that served as the inspiration for the design of the Getty Villa in Malibu, California).
Three short periods of open-air excavation at the site were conducted in the 19th century. Systematic open-air excavation began in 1927 and continued until 1961. Since 1961 excavations within the archaeological site have proceeded intermittently. It is estimated that only one third of the ancient town has been uncovered, with the remainder lying under the modern town of Ercolano.
Source: Getty Website
Having an odd admiration to Mt. Vesuvius, I decided to hike the heart of it. Little did I know that the tour I signed up for also consisted of revisiting the past of what it was like before the volcanic eruption. The ruins showed how the Romans were very established and civilized then. They had stores, bakeshop, pizza place, markets, gardens, parks, or pretty much everything you find in a regular community. Given the periods, it proved that it goes way back tthen that Romans were already decorating their quarters with paintings and sculptures of colors and of variety of designs, placing intricate marble tiles, constructing multiple-level buildings, and were very well aware and knowledgeable with different systems that are necessary to build shelters, cook food, and survive like irrigation, equipments, transportations, etc. I was certainly exploded with compounding fascination, interest and wonder.
Turn the hands of time to present is Getty Villa which I visited last month. Getty Villa location design is based from Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum. The rusted and ancient look of the pillars, walls, ceilings, pathways and materials in Herculaneum can be observed at the Getty Villa in pearly whites, smooth textures and refined designs and more elaborate patterns.
This is such a beautiful feeling. I get to visit these two inter-related locations. I wasn’t aware of such connections. I only discovered it when I sat for two hours on the audio-video station in Getty Center. Imagine my added excitement. These merging images of my waking tours of Ercolano in Italy and Getty Villa in California makes me realized even more how truly blessed I am. Pardon the greediness and over-ambitious desire, but if I could time travel back to 79 CE to Herculaneum before Mt. Vesuvius got mad, that would be exponentially awesome. I’d promise to take pictures to share to all of you. *big grin*
The pillars on both locations are my favorites.
I’ll be posting more of Getty Villa so for now, here’s more of Herculaneum …
Paintings, tiles, and colors
I know this relative newly created blog since it started. Her first post was a simple, yet very illustrative picture of a portion of Getty architechture. Do check that out? Since then, she’s been “focusing” on building designs, flowers, and abstracts with keen eye, obscurity and pleasant randomness. See how she approached the Disney Hall, and see how Rona has such a good eye for often neglected areas and parts.
LAST CALL … I think it doesn’t do justice when I shrink my pictures putting them as part of collage. It’s quite a struggle when you want to share more but didn’t want to crowd the page, esp. With these large images. Well…
The artifacts and sculptures you see in the Getty Villa can also be seen in Naples Archeological Museum.