Sydney to showcase exhibition on Pompei

Sydney - The international exhibition "Escape from Pompei" will be showcased at the Australian National Maritime Museum. The exhibition includes ancient finds from Pompei, Naples, Rome and Sicily.

It also tells how the Roman naval forces conquered the Mediterranean and how Roman naval control generated a boom in maritime trade not to be compared with any other in the following thousand years. Discoveries from Pompeii and Ercolano - cities completely devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. - and from naval wreckages testify to the extension of the trade of raw materials and luxury goods.

As it was the only naval force remaining in the Mediterranean, Pliny the Elder decided to employ it to cater to the inhabitants threatened by Vesuvius. The objects showcased in the exhibition "Escape from Pompeii" include jewels, pottery, sculptures and frescoes found in Pompeii and Ercolano, as well finds from shipwrecks. There are also plaster casts of the bodies of some of the victims of the Vesuvius eruptions.

The exhibition will open on March 31 and will run until August 30. There will also be descriptions of the Roman naval forces thanks to interactive multimedia and 3D animations. It will also evoke the formidable force of the volcano which devastated Pompeii 2000 years ago. The exhibition was launched by the Australian museum, in cooperation with Expona, Contemporanea Progetti, the Italian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Consulate in Sydney.