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The most fascinating aspect of Pompeii,the event that makes it a one in the world, from a historic and artistic point of view, is the possibility to put together step by step, along the lava basalt paved roads, the everyday life of the inhabitants of a city which became immortal after the catastrophic eruption in 79 A.D..
The Forum was the heart of the city, the center of all the economic, commercial and political activities and the meeting place, the “Square” of all the Pompeians. In this vast space, surronded by a double colonnade and decorated with bronze and marble statues which have unfortunately all gone lost except for the pedestals, were situated all the most important public buildings. Here were the Basilica where justice was administered, the seats of the “Duumviri”, the “Decuriones” and the “Aediles” who governed the city, the “Comitium” where the magistrates voted, the Italic Temple to Zeus which together with the Temple to Apollo and all the other sacred buildings scattered throughout the city and dedicated to the various other gods, evidenced the Pompeians sense of religion. A very strong religious sense if we consider that they also decorated their own private homes with “larari”. This big rectangular space 38 x 142 meters was also the seat of commerce. Small pieces of fruit pits, cereals, fish bones, meat and vegetables were found in the “Macellum”, a covered market built during the imperial period, where the earth products were sold. Agriculture was very prosperous thanks to the fertile land: pompeian “horti” (vegetable gardens) were famous for their vegetables, grapevines, olives, honey and “spelta”, a special type of wheat which permitted two harvests a year. The building of “Eumachia”, a priestess of Venus, seat of the “Fullones” corporation (washers, cleaners, garment producers), was used for the auction of wool, garments and other clothes products. Commerce in the Pompeian economy incremented after the 62 A.D. earthquake. Along the “Abbondanza” road, one of the decumans crossing the city from east to west, were the “thermopoli”, such as the Asellina thermopoli, where hot and cold beverages were mixed. Along this road were also the “cauponae” pubs and eating places, the cleaners or “fullones”. In the fullones kept by Stefano the “impluvium” originally used to gather water, had been transformed into a basin for washing clothes. The garments were then pressed by the laborers in basins and whitened with urine. Even an immense villa such as the one that belonged to Julia Felix was partially used for pubs and little stores. Bread stores with big cone shaped millstones pushed by mules and slaves for the production of flour and bread, stores selling “garum”, the favorite dried fish sauce made from tunafish, and little artisan stores of iron, ceramics and gold were scattered all over the city. Every Pompeian tried to save some of his time for “otium”. The busiest city area had thermal baths: the Forum thermae, the Central ones, the Stabian ones, all very important in the early day life of the city. These places, split into Women and Men sections contained the “calidarium” (hot bath), the “tepidarium” (warm bath) and the “frigidarium” (cold bath) and rooms (frequently decorated with stuccos) for massages and beauty treatments. Body care was continued in the gymnasiums, such as the “Palestra Grande”, an enormous building from the imperial period, where sports activities were performed. Big roots moulds prove the existence of plane-trees which shaded the entire area. Plays were a very
important appointment. Classical performances, comedies and tragedies
were performed in the Big Theater
(200 - 150 B.C.) which had a capacity of 5,000
spectators. Today, we can only see a few of its cavea tiers
along with the stage and niches. Musical auditions and mime
performances were held in the Little Theater
(covered), built after 80 B.C. and whose tiers, seating 1,000
spectators, have been completely preserved. The gladiator games were
held in the great elliptic Amphitheater,
built in 80 B.C. with a capacity of 12,000
people. Pompeians had a particulary redined architectural taste in decorating their own homes and gardens. The first buildings (Italic period, IV and III centuries B.C.) were extremely simple, with an entrance hall, a roof which included the “compluvium” to convey water to the basin below the “impluvium”, the “cubicula” or bedrooms, the “tablinum”, meeting place for the family at the end of the entrance hall, and the “hortus” on the rear. In the course of the years the buildings became more and more complex thus offering more than one “atrio”, “peristilio” (court surronded by pillars) and garden. The decorations became more complex: we can find warm and brilliantly colored decorations such as the famous “pompeian red”, with mythologic, heroic, religious, erotic or fantastic subjects. Beautiful examples of these decorations are the frescos
in the “House of the Vettii”
where the cupids indicate the various artisan activities, the splendid
“Venus in the Shell” in the “House
of Venus”, or the mysterious cycle of frescos (3
x 17 meters long) in the “Mystery
Villa” dedicated to the worship of Dionysus,
which represent some of the greatest paintings of the past. The bronze sculpture art, whose most famous example is the dancing Faun in the homonymous house, the love for vase and silverware confirmed by the finding of 115 pieces of silver in the “House of the Menandro”, are also extremely important examples of these decorations. The gardens where
Pompeians dined on “triclini” (three
legged sofas) during the summer, were full of fountains
such as the ones polychrome mosaics of the “House
of the Big and Small Fountain”. This was possible because
Pompeians had running water thanks to the lead
pipelines that supplied the entire city with running water
and which also caused quite a few problems of toxicity. The mosaics
beautifully completed the home decorations: the most simple ones in black
and white geometrical design, such as “Cave
Canem” of the “House of the
Tragic Poet”, the masterpieces had a variety of colors
such as the ones in the “Battle of Isso”,
found in the “House of the Faun”,
and today in the National Archaeological
Museum in Naples.
For further informations about the Roman city buried by the fire of the Vesuvius, visit the site www.PompeiSepolta.com/. You will find many historical news about the city-life, the typical Roman houses, the education of the Pompeian youth, the games, the sports and the "ars amatoria" of our ancestors. From the section "Visit to the Ruins" you can enter directly in the archaeological area and, virtually, in the houses, the places, the sacred and public buildings, discovering the secret of a city that will live forever in consequence of a tragic event that disseminated death and terror all over the surrounding territory.
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