PANTALONE+Alessandra

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 * [[image:http://aphrodite.cooltext.com/rendered/cooltext437770658.png]]

Pompeii, unlike the other towns in Campania founded for the most part by Greek colonists, was built by the Oscans, probably around the 9-8th century B.C., even if the evidence now available does not go back beyond the **6th century >>>**
 * Historical Outline **

 **The House:** There is ample documentation of the Roman house in Pompeii, from modest dwellings to large and magnificent villas with sumptuous decorations, from simple workmen's houses to the elegant residences of the **noble class >>>**

Roman temples - the ones in Pompeii in particular - do not diverge in any way from the great Hellenistic models known through the colonies of **Magna Graecia** **>>>**
 * Temples ** **:**

The theatre was the place where performances of comedies and tragedies were held. It included a semi-circular cavea from which led the series of steps divided into sections on which the **spectators sat >>>**
 * Theaters: **

Pompeii is one of the most significant proofs of Roman civilization and, like an open book, provides outstanding information on the art, customs, trades and everyday life of the past. The city has re-emerged from the darkness of centuries precisely as it would have been when it was unexpectedly buried in the thick layer of ash and lava which poured down from the devastating eruption of Vesuvius. It was the year 79 A.D. The scale of the tragedy was appalling: in what had been one of the most active and splendid Roman centres, life came to a permanent standstill. The thick layer of volcanic material which submerged it, made up to a large extent of ash and lapilli - non-hard material, unlike that which covered Herculaneum and which solidified into extremely hard stone -has meant that the city has remained intact until the present day, not only as far as its buildings are concerned, but also as regards the contents inside the houses and shops, providing an absolutely fascinating picture of "daily" life. The walls of the houses are covered with electoral propaganda messages or risque jokes aimed at particular citizens. The signs on the shop doorways indicate the activity carried out there or the name of the owner. Alongside the elegant villas belonging to the nobility and the luxurious residences of the middle class, stand modest houses where several families lived. The peasant dwellings on the other hand are situated around vegetable gardens or small plots of land. On the edge of the city stood the brothels, squalid rooms intended as places of pleasure for sailors and travellers passing through, in the narrow lanes, the workshops and utility rooms provide further evidence of the daily routine performed by workmen and slaves as well as the women of the house. The houses still contain furniture, ornaments, gold and silverware, work tools, kitchenware, bronze and terracotta lamps, foodstuffs of all kinds, counters for serving drinks, grain mills and grindstones, workshops for manufacturing cloth, smithies and outlets selling groceries, fruit and vegetables. There is a remarkable record of Roman painting, of which, without the finds made in Pompeii, virtually nothing would be known. The architecture and development of the various types of houses is also amply documented. Thus the excavated city provides outstanding historical evidence of Roman civilization: these reminders of the past, which are so vivid and tangible in the remains brought to light, contribute to the fascination of the present. []
 * The average warmest month is July.
 * The highest recorded temperature was 100°F in 1988.
 * On average, the coolest month is January.
 * The lowest recorded temperature was -25°F in 1984.
 * The maximum average precipitation occurs in September.

The site of Pompeii is located in western Italy in a region called Campania, near the Bay of Naples. With the coast to the west and the Apennine Mountains to the east, Campania is a fertile plain, traversed by two major rivers and blessed with soil rich in phosphorus and potash. In ancient times, the region's crop yield was six times higher than the average of the rest of the peninsula. Campania was so fertile that some areas had up to three grain crops per year. The region also hosted some of Italy's chief olive groves, and the mountains nourished thousands of sheep. Though little is known about Campania's first settlers, the first people to settle in this region were probably prehistoric hunters, gatherers and fishers. By at least the eighth century B.C., a group of Italic people known as the Oscans occupied the region; they most likely established Pompeii, though the exact date of its origin is unknown. Ionians also settled in Campania during the eighth century B.C. Their Greek settlements began as a series of small trading posts, but soon grew into successful merchant cities that eventually dominated the area. For a few centuries the inhabitants of Campania remained under Hellenic control, with Pompeii and the nearby city Herculaneum the center of Greek occupation. During the fifth century B.C. a group of warriors from Samnium, a region north of Campania, invaded the latter region and seized control of Pompeii. Rome, vying with the Samnites over control of the Italic peninsula, drove the Samnites out in the fourth century B.C. and took Pompeii as its own ally about 290 B.C. Rome's control over Pompeii was distant - the city was allowed to retain its own language and culture, but was required to admit itself subject to Rome without benefiting from the status of Roman citizenship. Pompeii reluctantly accepted this situation for centuries; finally, when the Social War began in 90 B.C., they saw a chance at freedom and joined forces with other Roman "allies" against the city that oppressed them. The rebels and Rome fought for two years but one of Rome's most brilliant generals, Sulla, eventually defeated the Campanians. He took Pompeii and Herculaneum in 89 B.C. Though the allies were defeated, they were awarded the status of Roman citizenship. In order to quell any further uprisings, however, their former liberties were taken away, and Rome established colonies of army veterans to help keep the order. Eventually, Sulla established the Cornelia Veneria colony in Campania, which began the "romanization" of the region. Campania adapted to the Romans as easily as it had to the Greeks. Because of the area's natural resources, trade flourished and the standard of living was raised. Pompeii developed its luxury services, trade with foreign countries and agricultural produce. As Rome itself became more prosperous, its wealthy citizens looked to Pompeii and the Gulf of Naples as a relaxing vacation area. The shoreline of the Gulf became host to the splendid country houses of the most powerful people in the world, including emperors, court personages, and Roman aristocracy. It appeared that Pompeii and the surrounding villas had finally found the peace they had longed for. Though Mt. Vesuvius had once been a very active volcano, it had remained dormant for as long as humans could remember. Since no legacy of destruction had been passed down from their ancestors, the people living near the mountain didn't realize there was any potential for danger. The first warning sign came on February 5th, A.D. 62. About midday, a "long, muffled roar" shook the town; nobody could tell what it was, or where it had come from. Soon the earth began to tremble, and buildings collapsed all around. People rushed out of the town and away from the falling buildings, only to fall prey to deep chasms that ripped open the countryside without warning. The town's nearby reservoir also broke, adding floods to the chaotic scene. Though it was destructive, the first earthquake lasted for only a moment; an hour later, however, the area was seized by another tremor. The quakes continued to occur at unpredictable intervals, inflicting alternate moods of hysteria and hope, until nightfall. For the next seventeen years Pompeii concentrated on repairing the damages the earthquake had caused, determined to make their town even more splendid than before. Campania was peaceful and prosperous once more, and their maritime trading industry continued to be successful. Signs of the upcoming eruption began at the beginning of August in A.D. 79. Small tremors shook the ground, but the quakes were so insignificant and caused so little damage that few paid any attention to them. Springs and wells also dried up, which in ancient times was often interpreted as a sign of the gods' displeasure. On August 20th, the earth began to rumble and crack, and the usually calm sea gave way to giant waves. Horses, cattle and birds became uneasy and restless, as if they could foresee the disaster that awaited the town. Finally, on the morning of August 24th, 79 A. D. the volcano burst open with an earsplitting crack. Smoke, mud, flames and burning stones spewed from the summit of the mountain, sending a rain of ash and rock through the surrounding countryside. The mud seeped down the sides of Vesuvius, swallowing nearby farms, orchards and villas. Adding to the destruction were the mephitic vapors that accompanied the falling debris; the fumes first caused deliriousness in their victims, then suffocated them. Some people of Pompeii grabbed their beasts of burden and attempted to flee the area; others perhaps chose to wait until the streets were clear of the panicked masses; still others sealed themselves up in rooms, supposing that the ashes and poisonous gasses would not harm them there. The unfortunate people who could not escape in time to avoid disaster were killed by falling buildings, overcome by the mephitic gas, or simply buried by the rapidly falling ash. Their bodies were quickly covered by the volcano's mineral deposits, which covered Pompeii in a layer more than 30 feet thick. Over the years, the memory of Pompeii and the surrounding cities faded into a vague legend about the lost treasure of la Citta ("the City"). Interest in recovery of the ancient sites did not return until the fourteenth century, when the Renaissance brought a renewed fascination with all things antique. Ancient writers such as [|Pliny the Younger], Perotto, Sannazzaro, and Dion Cassius mentioned Pompeii and the disaster that had befallen it; tantalizing hints as to what lay beneath the Campanian soil were also unearthed. Based on artifacts discovered by people who lived on the land, scholar humanists hypothesized that the ancient objects they found came from the famous la Citta. Excavations did not occur, however, until the eighteenth century, when Herculaneum was rediscovered by a peasant digging a well. Pompeii itself was found during an excavation that began on March 23, 1748. From that date on, excavations at Pompeii have continued sporadically. Portions of the site remain uncovered, and excavation and research teams are still attempting to reveal this mysterious city's secrets. -Wonderful pictures and building [|maps] - [|Eyewitness account] of the eruption and Pliny the Elder's death Sources Brion, Marcel. **Pompeii and Herculaneum: The Glory and the Grief**. Crown Publishers. 1960. New York, New York. Grant, Michael. **Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum**. The Macmillan Company.1987. New York, New York. Ward-Perkins, John and Claridge, Amanda. **Pompeii A.D. 79**. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1978. New York, New York.

A moveable feast: Pompeian kitchens and dining
In today’s houses, the kitchen tends to be a central feature, often used for eating and gathering with friends as well as cooking. In contrast, Roman kitchens were small, poorly lit rooms, usually tucked away at the back of the house. In most of the kitchens excavated at Pompeii, the only permanent feature left is a masonry hearth with a tiled top and arched recesses at the bottom for storing fuel. Cooking was done on this open hearth, with pots set on iron tripods over burning charcoal or wood. Some houses also boasted a small oven, much like a modern woodfired pizza oven, at the corner of the bench, with a vent near the stove for the smoke to escape. The only other furnishings in the Pompeian kitchen were a basin to hold water for cooking and washing up, and sometimes supports for tables to prepare the food. Roman kitchen implements were simple, but practical and functional. Texts of the time use the word //cacabus// to mean pans in general, while the //fretale// or //sartago// seems to have been a bronze or iron frying pan. The //pultarius// was a saucepan, and the //testa// or //clibanus// a small portable oven for roasting or baking bread. Iron choppers, knives, cleavers and spoons, as well as strainers, ladles and mortars, were used to prepare the food, which was served on a large circular platter called a //discus//. Portable hearths of bronze or ceramic could be used in apartments or for a summer meal in the garden, and a //craticula// was a special grid used for barbecues. Roman cuisine was also decidedly simple: food of all sorts was usually boiled, smoked, fried or baked and either seasoned with fish sauce (//garum//) or wine reduced to a thick syrup (//defrutum//) and thickened with starch (//amulum//). Lunch (//prandium//), taken at midday, was a light meal consisting of meat or fish and fruit with perhaps some wine. Guests were not usually invited to //prandium//. During the hot Pompeian summer, this was followed by a siesta (//meridiatio//). The afternoon was the time for bathing, and after the baths (which might take several hours), the Pompeians ate their main meal (//cena//). As in any modern town, it was always possible to eat out at an inn (//taberna//). The menu (//tabula lusoria//) was displayed outside to entice passersby, and in one well-preserved instance, offered an impressive choice of chicken, fish and ham. Wealthy Pompeians dined in great style, and often had several dining rooms to choose from: cold-weather dining rooms faced west to take advantage of the warm afternoon sun, and warm-weather rooms faced east or north in order to remain shaded for most of the day. Many of the larger houses also had outdoor dining areas with a pergola to shade the diners and usually a fountain nearby. Diners wore brightly coloured dinner suits called //cenatoria// and reclined on couches. The classical Roman dining arrangement consisted of three large couches (the //summus//, //medius// and //imus//), each of which seated three people. The host sat at the end of the leftmost couch (//imus//) and the guest of honour sat at the left of the middle couch (//medius//). The food was served in bite-sized pieces, and diners ate from small plates placed on a ledge in front of them, using spoons or their fingers. The first course (//gustatio//) usually included eggs, lettuce, cheese and olives. The main course (//primae mensae//) consisted of fish or meat such as ham, poultry or kid. The last course (//mensae secundae//) was usually fruit. On special occasions, the wealthy would serve spectacular dishes like ‘Trojan Pig’, which when split open revealed a hidden filling of sausages and black pudding. Oysters were a popular addition to the menu, and an enterprising Roman, Sergius Orata, pioneered oyster farming in the Lucrine Lake in about 100 BC.