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| (Oct - Dec 2008) |
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| 2008.07.18 – 10.05 Special Exhibition Gallery (1) (2/F) Jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Regione Campania, the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei and the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong Jointly organized by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Regione Campania, the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei and the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation Exhibition coordinated and toured by 2smART Coach service for school and group visits sponsored by the Friends of the Hong Kong Museum of Art Sponsored by Champion Technology, A Better Tomorrow, Chinese World Cultural Heritage Foundation and World Cultural Relics Protection Foundation  |
At about midday on 24 August AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, entombing the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in its lava and ash. Stabiae, a region about 5 kilometres south of Pompeii, where many luxury Roman villas were located, was also buried. Despite the destruction wreaked by the eruption of Vesuvius, a number of frescoes were left at Stabiae in an extraordinary state of preservation. Excavations were formally begun by the King of Naples, Charles of Bourbon, in 1749, who had sections of the frescoes removed for display in his palaces, before the site at Stabiae was reburied. The location of Stabiae was then forgotten until 1950, when Libero d'Orsi, the principal of a local classical school, restarted excavations at his own expense until 1962. Control of the excavation gradually passed to the Superintendence of Archaeology of Pompeii in the mid-20th century, who continues to maintain the site today. This exhibition features 170 fantastic works of art selected from several villas in Stabiae, including frescoes and stuccoed decorations as well as terracotta, glass, bronze, iron and marble objects and a complete installation of three wall sections, all of which tell a 2,000-year-old story of wealth, power, politics and lifestyle. The villas at Stabiae were summer palaces of the wealthy Roman elite, who went to enjoy the panoramic views of the Bay of Naples, the temperate climate and the thermal mineral springs there while they conducted business and ran the empire during the summer months. Opening Hours Ticket Price Associated Programmes
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