History of Interior Design: Pompeii

Pompeii was a city in Italy near the town of Naples. Pompeii was one of the many areas that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Most of the town was covered in about 13- 20 feet of ash. On the eve of that fateful eruption, scholars estimate that there were about 20,000 people living in Pompeii and the surrounding region. I cant imagine losing everything I had, especially during that time period. It would definitely take years to rebuild with limited resources. This picture of the volcano erupting is breathtaking and scary all at the same time.

Pompeii was rediscovered in the year 1599 when an underground channel was found. While doing research on Pompeii, I noticed how I saw a lot of ruins were uncovered along with inscriptions and murals painted on these cave walls. It amazes me how we can find out so much about the past by uncovering hidden artifacts from back then. It makes me think of objects that would be left behind now that would inform future researches about our life now.

Above shows the "Garden of the Fugitives" that shows plaster casts of victims still in situ; many of these casts are in the Archaeological Museum of Naples.