From Pompeii to Dallas: 72 Antiquities and Frescos Now on Display

From the Ashes of Vesuvius, In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite July 8 –October 7, 2007 J. E. R. Chilton Galleries
Dallas Museum of Art

Many are aware that Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in A.D. 79 buried the famous town of Pompeii, Italy. But, few people know that it also buried Stabiae, a seaside enclave of the rich and famous about three miles away, at the foot of the Sorrento-Amalfi Coast.

From the Ashes of Vesuvius, In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite will open at The Dallas Museum of Art on July 8 with a stunning collection of archaeological objects from the ancient Roman site of Stabiae (modern Castellammare di Stabia). The exhibition premiered at the Smithsonian before traveling to other U.S. cities. In Stabiano features maps, excavation photographs and 72 objects dating between 89 B.C. and the time of the eruption, all from the villas of ancient Stabiae.

"The site is an enormous archaeological treasure, another ‘modern Pompeii’ waiting to be discovered,” said Anne Bromberg, The Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Ancient and Asian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. “The remarkable exhibition presents the lifestyle of the very wealthy and powerful Roman elite. It is the best preserved concentration of first century B.C. and A.D. elite seaside villas in the entire Mediterranean world.”

"Among the artifacts are ancient frescoes, many of the highest quality, that demonstrate to visitors two major styles of the time,” said guest co-curator Thomas Noble Howe, Coordinator General of The Restoring Ancient Stabiae (R.A.S.) Foundation project and professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. “The first style is a painterly style with floating figures and drapery fluttering in the breeze, painted with impressionist-like strokes as seen in the frescoes ‘Flora’ and ‘Diana’; and the second is a more dramatic style featuring actors of the time portraying mythological scenes.”

The exhibition runs through October 7, 2007.

Comments

[Santi]

I went on a tour with Globus (they're affiliated with Cosmos) last May. It was my first trip to Europe and it was a GREAT iotorductinn for me. I went on one of their 16 day panorama tours (the best of Italy and France with London) and it was phenomenal. I'm totally addicted now and hope to go back in the fall but this time on my own.Their Italian Mosaic and Best of Italy tours hit all of the places you mentioned and more. I can't speak for all of the tours, but the tour that I went on had really great hotels! The Hilton and Le Meridian to name a few. The only thing was that they weren't in the dead centre of the cities, which really wasn't a big deal. They were usually only about 10-15 minutes, 30 minutes walking, outside of the city centres. Our hotel in Venice was the only one I had complaints about but 1 out of 6 (I think) isn't bad. It's not even that it was a BAD hotel, it just didn't compare to the previous ones and the food was somewhat sub-par.I had quite a bit of free time on my tour, as the way it was set up is we would do group sight seeing in the morning, then generally we'd have the afternoon to ourselves, and then we'd have the option of meeting up with the group later on for dinner.Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I had a good experience with Globus, so I guess that anyone who's part of the Globus Family is a safe bet as well (but don't quote me on that haha).