The largest house in Pompeii fully reopened today following two years of renovation. Villa dei Misteri (Villa of the Mysteries), famous for its frescoes of the cult of Bacchus or Dionysus, is now completely to visitors. The villa was renovated in stages so parts could remain open.
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini cut the ribbon on the renovated site and said, “”We know the world looks to Pompeii with scrupulous attention. Today Italy is proud to tell the world: ‘We have turned over a new leaf in Pompeii.'”
He added that numerous projects are underway at Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been criticized in the past for falling into disrepair. “We have behind us a year of extraordinary work. We have closed three work sites while another 13 have been opened, nine contracts have been started and we have hired 85 people in various positions.”
According to the Gazzetta del Sud, “The recent restoration work, which involved 70 rooms of the Villa, corrected some of the damage inflicted by previous restoration techniques that were found to be harmful to the Villa’s frescoes over the years. In work done during the 1930s, wax was applied to preserve the frescoes, but ultimately faded the colors, something that was corrected using techniques to first identify the nature of the chromatic alterations and other damage over time and then perform restorations.”
Just last year, 10 other Pompeii buildings were restored and reopened.
By Kathy McCabe
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