For my last semester senior year I took an advanced seminar on the “The Grand Tour” and the importance of conservation. Briefly, “The Grand Tour” was a journey wealthy artist, patrons and collectors from Northern Europe (in particular, British) took during the 18th century. They traveled through Europe (in particular, Italy) to observe and study classical antiquities and the Renaissance. During the semester each student (there was about 13 of us) worked on a 15-20 page paper and presentation on a topic of our choice that was briefly covered in the curriculum. One topic in particular was the discovery and conservation of Pompeii and Herculaneum; and while it was not my research topic I was fascinated by what my classmate presented and I still remember much about the conservation techniques and findings.
After a devastating volcanic eruption at Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79 Pompeii and the surrounding areas were buried under an incredible depth of lava and ash. The eruption happened so quickly that the ancient city remained impeccably preserved until excavations began in the 18th century. Buildings still stood with their art and décor intact. Unfortunately with persistent contact with the elements the ancient city has begun to wear and extreme conservation has begun to take place.
The Great Pompeii Project, kick started with a €105 million ($137 million) effort from the European Union and with the advancements in conservation technology, conservationists have begun to restore Pompeii’s beautiful mosaics and fresco’s to their original state. Lasers are now being used to remove protective layers from previous restorers allowing the ancient cities art to come back to life. The project is set to be completed by October and the conservation areas are still open to the public.
