Visitors to Italy this year, once the coronavirus epidemic has abated, will find more to see at two important archaeological sites in Rome and Pompeii.
In Pompeii, the House of Lovers will re-open to visitors, 40 years after it was closed by earthquake damage. It is one of the beneficiaries of the ‘Great Pompeii Project’ which has brought millions of Euros and professional expertise in recent years after Pompeii nearly lost its World Heritage Status in 2013. The building, named for a romantic inscription over the door, is noted for an intact second floor and murals.
Work continues on other restoration projects in the town that was buried under volcanic ash in AD 79, including some excavation of the third of the town that has never been excavated since the explosion, unlike the areas that have both benefited and been damaged by 250 years of excavation.
In Rome, meanwhile, a 6th-century BC stone sarcophagus and altar has been revealed under the Forum, the heart of ancient Rome. It has been known for several decades, but has been the subject of strong debate among scholars as to whether it might be the tomb of Romulus, who with his twin Remus are the legendary, and perhaps actual, founders of the city.
