Pompeii Frescoes at Naples National Archaeological Museum

(ANSA) Naples, April 30 - A collection of frescoes that once adorned the walls of Ancient Roman buildings in Pompeii are set to go on show in Naples.

The National Archaeological Museum is to open its completely revamped fresco section, which hosts 400 works of art, following a ten-year renovation project. Preserved by a hail of lava and ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79, the precious artwork lay untouched for centuries until excavations started in the 1700s. Over the next 150 years, hundreds of frescoes were removed from their original location and carried away, sometimes for profit, sometimes in a bid to protect the art.

In nearly all cases, removing the artwork damaged the walls of the ancient buildings. Today, the collection housed in the Naples museum is the largest in the world, and is ready to go on show again. The principal change is an entirely new layout, which seeks to place the works in their historical context. The new layout offers visitors a chronological route through the works, charting developments in Pompeian art, as well as a thematic route, which groups together items removed from the same building wherever possible. The developments in art are mapped out through the four so-called ''styles'' of Pompeian wall-painting. The collection contains no examples of the first style, dominant from the 2nd century BC until around 80 BC, as this mainly simulated marble and other materials, and so was of little interest to early archaeologists and was rarely removed. However, there is an extensive selection of art from the second style, which was popular throughout the first century BC. This period saw a focus on architectural features and trompe l'oeil compositions, such as a renowned painting of Macedonian princes and philosophers.

The third style, which peaked in around 10 BC but still appeared in Pompeian art 70 years later, favored ornate and colorful decoration. Well-known examples from this era include a series of beautifully intricate paintings from the Boscotrecase villa, and bedroom decorations from the House of Fatal Love. The fourth style saw a resurgence in architectural scenes, although without the illusionary depth that characterized the second style.

However, a number of categories were eternally popular subjects for wall-painting. Religious and mythological subjects were long-running favorites, such as the feats of Hercules, Dido's abandonment by Aeneas, Perseus rescuing Andromeda or the love of Mars and Venus, which appears in 30 paintings. Landscape paintings also appear throughout the ages, ranging from idyllic mythological scenes to elaborate gardens to exotic locations such as Egypt, complete with Nile and crocodiles. Paintings from taverns and shops provide another recurrent category.

Generally hurried works with little preparation, these served the sole purpose of attracting attention. However, they are today of particular interest to archaeologists as they depict rare scenes from everyday life, such as tradesmen, market people, laborers and tavern scenes.

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New treasure joins Herculaneum show - Major exhibition explores life in ancient Roman town

(ANSA) - Naples, March 17 - A new treasure from Herculaneum was unveiled in Naples on Tuesday, where it will join a major exhibition exploring life in the Ancient Roman town buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD. The show, running until April 13, already features over 150 artefacts and human remains uncovered over the last three centuries but the new relief, uncovered by accident last month, is stirring fresh interest. The marble sculpture, dating back to the 1st century AD, apparently depicts two separate scenes centred on Dionysius, the Greek counterpart of Ancient Rome's god of wine and merrymaking, Bacchus.

''The relief is particularly fascinating for scholars as we are not yet certain exactly the tale that is being reproduced on the work,'' explained Herculaneum's excavation chief Maria Paola Guidobaldi.

''It almost certainly shows Dionysius and what appears to be one of his female followers, a Maenad, dancing. However, there are also two other figures, one with men's hair and the other wearing female clothes that aren't yet clear.

''Nor are we certain what gift is being offered to Dionysius. It was very probably some kind of offering, perhaps a thanksgiving, much as people make today to patron saints''. The Greek marble relief was uncovered by accident in Herculaneum on February 18, during regular maintenance work.

It was located in a luxurious residential building on the northwest block of the town, which has only been partly excavated so far. The relief was fixed in the eastern wall of a large room, at about two metres above the ground. It appears to have been designed as a partner for another relief, located at the same level on the southern wall of the room, which was removed in 1997. ''The find is particularly important owing to the interpretation of the scene it shows, which is still an open question,'' said Pompeii Superintendent Pietro Giovanni Guzzo. ''So far no one has been able to find a connection between the two separate scenes dividing the relief, the dancer and the homage to Dionysius''.

The show is already hosting dozens of statues, skeletons, artefacts and textiles from the small seaside town south of Naples, which was destroyed in the same Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii on August 24, 79 AD.

While Pompeii was covered by hot ash and lava, its less famous neighbour disappeared under an avalanche of molten rock. This mingled with mud and earth and solidified, allowing fragile organic matter like wood, fabrics, wax tablets and papyrus rolls to survive.

Archaeologists began digging at the sites around Vesuvius like Stabiae and Herculaneum at the start of the 1700s and continue to make discoveries today.

The exhibition is divided into three sections, focusing first on the magnificent statues of gods, heroes and emperors found among the ruins. The second section is dedicated to noble Herculaneum families such as that of the proconsul Marcus Nonius Balbus, one of the town's main benefactors, and also showcases many statues found at Herculaneum's largest residence, the Villa of the Papyri.

In the third section, the skeletons of fleeing townspeople are on show alongside everyday objects giving visitors an insight into the daily life of common people.

While bodies in Pompeii decomposed in the ash, Herculaneum's solidified mud preserved the skeletons intact, providing researchers with an extremely rare opportunity to examine remains of Ancient Romans, who usually cremated their dead.

The exhibition also includes an additional section at the end devoted entirely to Herculaneum's fabrics, which, like the townspeople, have been preserved in astonishing condition thanks to the sudden avalanche of molten rock at extremely high temperatures. Herculaneum: Three Centuries of Discoveries runs at the Naples Archaeological Museum until April 13.

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photo: the Villa of the Papyri.

Italy Travel: The Bay of Naples, a gift from God

I spent a life-altering week traveling among the islands of Capri and Ischia, Naples, Herculaneum, and Pompeii. I never knew the world could be as beautiful as around the Bay of Naples. The views, the commanding presence of Mt Vesuvius overlooking the peaceful town of Pompei close to 2,000 years after the eruption, the sunny, sunny days, the food, and best of all the people.

Pompeii made the greatest impact on me. The frozen casts of those citizens on that fateful day in 79 A.D. let the imagination construe a picture of fun and laughter, only to be shadowed by nature's supreme power. That was years ago and now approaching my senior year in college, I have since learned Italian, returned to Italy on two occassions, soon three. Italia, il bel paese.

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Nathaniel