opuscolo maiuri inglese.

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So, between the earth for the reclamation

and the soil for the filling of the lands.
I have flattened hills and unearthed whole
roads of Pompeii.
The ground is lowering day after day
while the city rises and looks more beautiful than ever.
That is just what I have being dreaming of!

A. Maiuri
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology

Preface
3

The International award of Archaeology “Amedeo Ma-

iuri”, sponsored by the Local Administration of Pompeii
is dedicated to the eminent archaeologist who was also
the Director of the Archaeological Superintendency of
Pompeii. The award is a recognition to the career of
those, who during their activity of exploration of hi-
story, distinguished themselves and strove in the archeo-
logical divulgation and in the scientific investigation.
The main goal of the International Award is to teach the
preservation of assets, recognized as “World Heritage”,
to the new generation, through the narrations of the
events which characterised the life and the work of
Amedeo Maiuri. In these pages we intend to show the
professional activity of the archaeologist in Italy and in
Rhodes, in Greece, in a modern, digital and artistic key.
He was the main character of many special events:
awards, honors, great discoveries during the unveiling
of one of the most evocative and exciting site among
the World heritage.
Pompeii, one of the kind, is the perfect venue for such
a recognition of the work, the passion and the expertise
of world famous archaeologists, who with fascinating
discoveries and solved mysteries were able to trace the
pattern followed by the study of a a Roman citizen’s the
every day life. Today we want to praise the teaching of
this great archaeologist, with a day entirely dedicated to
Archaeology and to its endless awesomeness.

Culture Assessor The Mayor

Pietro Orsineri Ferdinando Uliano
to Bianca Maiuri
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology

Amedeo Maiuri from Rhodes to Pompeii

5

Amedeo Maiuri is one of the greatest Italian archaeo-

logists of the last Century. He was born in Lazio, at Ve-
roli near Fregelle, on Jenuary 7th 1886 and died in
Naples on April 7th 1963.
From 1913 to 1924 he was the leader of the Italian Ar-
chaeological Mission in the Aegean, as the Director of
the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes and Superin-
tendent of the Excavations in the Dodecanese Islands.
After his time in Greece, when he was about 40, he
came back to Italy where he was nominated Director
of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples and
of Herculaneum and Pompeii Ruins. Thanks to his
scientific credits he was made a member of Accademia
d'Italia. He had more than three hundred publications
about his activities in the Aegean, in Southern Italy and
above all in Campania and Vesuvian areas. His interests
went from Prehistory to the Middle Age, from Roman
and Greek ruins to the Italic too.
Nonetheless, his first calling was not Archaeology, in
fact his degree thesis, that he accomplished in 1908 at
the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Rome,
was on Byzantine Philology, with a dissertation about
Teodoro Prodromo, a polygraph of the XI Century.
Because of his Humanistic and Epigraphic education,
Federico Halbherr, Director of the Italian Archaeologi-
cal School in Athens at the time, wanted him to be in
Crete. After he had won the competitive exam for the
Archaeological School of Athens (1908) and had ob-
tained the diploma at the Scuola Superiore di Archeo-
logia (1911), he began his first digs with Halbherr in
Crete, where, working as a member of the Italian Ar-
chaeological Mission (1912), he also took care of the
publishing of the Greek epigraphs.
After two years of investigations in Crete, he obtained
the direction of the Italian Archaeological Mission in
Rhodes, after the occupation of the Dodecanese Islands
by Italy. There he planned and directed the archaeolo-
gical activities for ten years, from 1914 to 1924, while
studying the history of the Mycenaean frequentation
until the occupation during the Middle Ages by the
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

Crusader Knights. With Gerola he restored the old Hospital of the Order of the Knights and
turned it into the Archaeological Museum where he also took care of the setting up.
In quite a short time he was able to show his interest for both all of the Ancient Times and
for all aspects of methodology of archaeology: from the digs to the publishing, from the re-
storations to the musealization of the finds.
He was called back to Italy from Rhodes and he received in 1924, when he was only 38, the
charge of Soprintendente alle Antichità della Campania e del Molise. At the same time he
also received the leadership of Pompeii and Herculaneum Ruins which he kept for 37 years,
until his retirement in 1961.
Since then his interest was focused on the city of Campania and above all on those buried
by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 A.D., that is to say Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae,
which were able to see the light mostly
thanks to his intense work.
In the specific, in Pompeii Maiuri dug the
largest part of the insulae who were still
buried; he investigated the evolution of the
ancient city all the way to the Samnite
layer; he restored the buildings which had
been damaged by the bombing of World
War II.
He also cleared the city walls from the soil
that had been accumulating for two centu-
ries by the previous archaeologists , who
had used the fortifications as a dumping
area for the soil removed during the digs.
The esteem on the soil removed to set the
city walls free was of about 1 million cubic
meters.
With his intelligence Maiuri was also able
to turn this worthless stash of earth into a
soil used for the reclamation of the near
marshy lands, thus gaining a big public
funding from the Cassa per il Mezzogiono.
Even the motorway Napoli-Salerno was
partly built thanks to the soil from Pompeii
ruins. Not only we owe him the modern
look of the ancient city, but also the one of
the surrounding lands that, after the recla-
mation, still look lovely with their intense
cultivations of fruits and vegetables.
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
7

Unfortunately, by these praiseworthy activities he only

received sorrow and humiliation, connected to an ad-
ministrative trial who eventually proved him not guilty,
as it shows also by the correspondence published in this
book.
Between 1924 and 1958, in Herculaneum he dug out
the largest part of the city, as we basically still see it
nowadays, pausing the digs only during the War.
Also in Stabiae he was present and very supportive of
the local scholar Libero D'Orsi about the digs of San
Marco and Arianna.
When he was Soprintendente alle Antichità he investi-
gated not only the ancient Greek and Roman centers of
Campania - such as Capri, Cuma, Baia, Miseno and
Pozzuoli – but also the settlements of southern Lazio,
Irpinia, Lucania, without neglecting Magna Grecia with
Paestum and Velia.
Eclectic character, Maiuri was not only an intellectual
but also a practical man.
He also took care of reorganizing the Museum of Na-
ples, providing the new display of the finds and remo-
ving the “pompeian red” from the walls.
He was also a clever moderator and we owe his diplo-
matic capacities the survival of the collections in the
National Archaeological Museum of Naples. During
World War II, Naples was bombarded several times and
that also threatened the ancient palace of the Museum.
We still have trace of that in the ugly post-war buil-
dings that were built between Piazza Cavour and Via
Foria, in replacement of the older palaces. Maiuri was
able to avoid the destruction and save the finds, moving
them to Montecassino. He was repaid of his zeal with
a broken leg, during the aerial raid on the road between
Pompeii and Naples, a disability that forced him to use
a cane for the rest of his life.
Always faithful to his original education as a philolo-
gist, he thought that the study of the written records
was preliminary to every dig. It was just the literary de-
scription of the villa of Literno where Scipio had been
sent in exile, that stimulated his research. Even if the
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

investigation of this particular building had to stop to a mere theory, he was able to dig up
the theater, the capitolium and the basilica of the ancient city.
He also had an intense academic activity, he was given the chair of Antichità Pompeiane ed
Ercolanesi at the University of Naples , first as professor in charge and then since 1942 as
full professor, while from 1937 to 1963 he was also professor at Istituto Parificato “Suor Or-
sola Benincasa” first for Ancient History and then Roman History.
Despite the heavy institutional duties and scientific obligations, he had the profound need
of publishing with literary tones as a reflex of his rich personality, a need - as his daughter
Bianca once told me- that pushed him to be sitting at his desk at 6 in the morning in the ser-
vice house in the Royal Palace of Naples, to write those articles he used to give periodically
first to the Mattino and to Giornale d'Italia and then to Correiere della Sera.
It was Amedeo Maiuri,
Roberto Longhi and Ro-
berto Pane who in the
first half of this Century-
respectively for archaeo-
logy, art history and hi-
story of architecture-
introduced the literary
prose in scientific disser-
tations. It was not like
the previous archaeolo-
gists were without a lite-
rary culture - for
instance, Vittorio Spinaz-
zola was famous both as
Soprintendente and for
his public "lecturae Dan-
tis" – but nobody had made an actual model yet. Maiuri can be considered the progenitor of
that archaeological divulgation with literary taste in Italy, then kept alive by the other scholars
after him.
While in the didactic publications he was more like a “romantic archaeologist”, with the
need to fill in the missing pieces of history with creative but plausible reconstructions, he
abandoned every divagation in the scientific publications, being very precise and strict to
the facts.
On November 30th 1961, at 75, Amedeo Maiuri retired, leaving the University, the Soprin-
tendenza and the Direction of the Ruins.
Being very humble, he never took advantage of the prestige he had achieved. On this subject,
a story told me by his daughter Bianca is very interesting. Once the President of the Italian
Republic Giovanni Gronchi, during an official visit to Campania, was very enthusiastic for
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
9

the work of the renowned archaeologist and told him:

“Excellency, ask me whatever you want. I'll be happy
to do whatever I can for you” and Maiuri could have
answered him – as he really wanted from the bottom
of his heart- “Honorary Superintendent for life”, but
he just didn't...
His successor and disciple Alfonso de Franciscis – with
the great elegance that was always his and even if he
was frightened by the lumbering presence - wanted to
give him a little office in the building of the Soprinten-
denza; that room, that became the room of the Inspec-
tors after his death, kept on being called the “Maiuri
Office”.

One of the most delicate matter in the biography of Ma-

iuri concerns his connections to the Fascism. In some
of the most recent texts he was accused of some sort of
collusion with the Regime or even racism.
A lot comes out by the critics to his speech, delivered
in Campidoglio at the presence of the Royals on No-
vember 23rd 1941: “ Rome and the European East”,
Rome, Reale Accademia d'Italia, 1942. The speech
happened during the Russian Campaign, a context
which clarifies the birth of it. In fact it highlights Italian
ambitions of trans-adriatica hegemony, through archa-
eology and history of Romanità and the cultural con-
nections between Italy and the Balkan world.
My opinion is that he has always mainly been a public
person, hence a man involved in the public events of
his time. Moreover, being a high State official, his role
was limited to the executive function and not a politi-
cal one.
It was this respect for boundaries in his functions that
allowed him to keep the same charge through three dif-
ferent regimes: monarchy, empire and republic.
He was never involved in political initiatives that could
be offensive for human dignity. On the contrary, being
a very pragmatic man, he took advantage of the con-
ceited fascist bureaucracy, as in the case of the funding
he obtained for Hrculaneum ruins.
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

It is indicative that he was processed after the War for collusion with the Regime by the
Allies Force of Occupation and after the tip off of Giuseppe Spano, we has fully acquitted.
It also seems significant the spontaneous statement – quoted in this book - when he refers
about the visit of Mussolini to Paestum “ That day of the visit to the temples, I was in charge
of accompanying him... I remember that I made a summary of the dual lives of the Greek
and the Italic Paestum and the tour was, with my big relief, very brief”.
Neither he loved - like other colleagues of his - to wear the orbace during official events.
Moreover in the correspondence saved in the Office of Herculaneum ruins, there is a corre-
spondence between him and the Prefect of Naples who hopes that they will build a bust of
the Duce in front of the entrance of Herculaneum ruins - funded with resources of the Re-
gime. Maiuri takes his time, postpones to better times with great elegance...the point is that,
that bust was never put in place.
At last, in the archive of Istituto Archeologico Germanico in Rome there is a letter of April
19th 1943 (provided to our
Fondo in a copy by the
friend Hubertus Mander-
schied) in which Maiuri
shows his sympathy to Her-
mine Speyer, a German Je-
wish, removed from the
Istituto Germanico because
of the racial laws, but she
luckily found - thanks to
the intervention of the
Pope- protection and a job
in the Vatican Museum:
“Dear Miss Speier, I have
received Your letter with
the communication of Your
removal from the Institute;
I get this news with deep
sorrow, remembering the
kindness You have always
showed in the relations
with my Institute and Your
fervid activity of works. I
hope that You can keep on working in Rome and I wish, kind Miss, that You can keep in the
most possible peaceful way Your noble profession of scholar. Kind regards. Yours faithfully,
Amedeo Maiuri”.
If Maiuri really was a racist – as it has been told - he would have neither showed his sympathy
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
11

nor would have he exposed himself to the Regime by

sending an official letter on headed paper of the “So-
printendente alle Antichità della Campania e del Mo-
lise”.
Amedeo Maiuri died on April 7th 1963 at 77, after only
two years from his retirement. The solemn funeral, fil-
med by Istituto Luce, went from the Museum to the
University, the two complementary centers of his long
and intense activity that allowed him to enhance the ar-
chaeological heritage of Italy in the most critical years
of the Century.

Thanks to my personal friendship with Maiuri family

and in particular with his daughter Bianca, in 2001
“Suor Orsola Benincasa” University was able to ac-
quire the private library of “Amedeo Maiuri”. It has
been placed in the “International Center of Pompeian
Studies Amedeo Maiuri” hosted in the Municipio of
Pompeii.
It includes all his scientific and published production,
with its own editions in foreign languages and in seve-
ral samples.
The books of other authors are mainly constituted by
works with historical-artistic and archaeological sub-
ject, among which there is the most important specialist
production of the first half of this Century and thou-
sands of articles of Italian and foreign authors with au-
tograph dedication.
The Fondo also includes the handwritten notebooks of
the digs, pictures of the time and drawings, certificates
and “honoris causa” degrees, the light blue livery of
Accademico d'Italia and one plaster replica of the bust
nowadays displayed in the Esedra dei Pompeianisti in
the Antiquarium of the Ruins.
For its importance, the Fondo has been put under re-
striction by the Ministero per i Beni Culturali through
the Soprintendenza Archivistica della Campania (num.
1430 of 5.23.2005).

Umberto Pappalardo
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

The fund Amedeo Maiuri

The book collection

Maiuri is without any doubt a versatile character, fully immersed in the “job” of the
archaeologist: the intense research activity, the thick net of friendships and his pro-
fessional relations give us back a library full of features to be interpreted.
The book collection is made up of about 2000 volumes, 1700 abstracts and 200 boo-
klets, related
- most of the time - to the following subjects: Classical Literature, Ancient History,
Art and Archaeology.
The years of publishing cover a time period that goes from the 1700s until 1960s,
with the only exception of the volume Ab Urbe Condita by Tito Livio published in
1556 in Venice by Paolo Manuzio.
The Fondo has a substantial presence of ancient sources, to be connected for sure to
the original philological education of Maiuri and to his archaeological investigation,
often revealed by a careful analysis of the ancient written records.
When Maiuri comes back to Campania after having been in Rhodes, he is soon cap-
tured by the appeal of the Campi Flegrei; with his usual audacity he starts a new ad-
venturous archaeological research: led by the verses of Virgil he finds in Cuma the
alleged Cave of the Sibyl. The trace of this studies is proved in his book collection
by several editions of Virgil and some writings concerning the history of the Flegriean
area.
In the library of a classical archaeologist, with particular philological inclinations
like Maiuri, it's inevitable to find Greek and Latin historiographical volumes. In fact
works of Erodoto, Tu-
cidide, Polibio, Plu-
tarco, Svetonio, Tacito,
Nepote, Cesare and
Sallustio are not mis-
sing.
Moreover, the collec-
tion has other editions
of Greek and Latin Li-
terature that deserve
particular attention:
the Opera Omnia by
Marco Tullio Cicerone
made up of 16 volumes
printed by the publi-
sher Pomba between
1823 and 1835; an in-
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
13

teresting edition of De Architectura libri decem,

translated and commented by the Marchese Be-
rardo Galiani, with also 25 illustrations by the au-
thor himself in the original edition (Naples 1758)
and at last the Analecta veterum poetarum graeco-
rum by the famous French philologist Richard
Franz Philippe Brunck published by the same bet-
ween 1772 and 1776.
Maiuri also owned some erudite-historical books
published between the end of 1700s and the begin-
ning of 1800s, slikely those were collected for per-
sonal pleasure rather then for real study purposes.
Among the books of the 1700s the Commentarium
in regii Herculanensis Musei aeneas tabulas Hera-
cleenses by Alessio Simmaco Mazzocchi published
in Naples in 1754 by Officina Gessari deserves
particular attention.
It's very singular to find in the Fondo Maiuri a se-
ries of manifestos and some satire magazines re-
garding Italian Risorgimento, bound in only one
volume. This contains some Royal decrees by
Francesco II Borbone and several issues of the ma-
gazines Il Tuono, Il chiodo and L’arlecchino. This
example in the library of Maiuri proves a particular
interest of the archaeologist in something not rela-
ted to his usual studies.
The collection also contains several edition of the
late 1800s and the early 1900s about the history
and the places of the Kingdom of Naples.
Of course the library also has much about the writ-
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

ten production of the 1800s concerning the archaeological findings in the Vesuvian
cities. Among the most significant editions we can mention some books by Michele
Ruggiero (Degli scavi di antichità nelle province di terraferma; Degli scavi di Stabia
e Storia degli scavi di Ercolano) and the Guida di Pompei by Giuseppe Fiorelli,
which shows on the first guard page a peculiar pencil sketch of a view of ancient
Pompeii .
The largest part of the archaeological volumes focuses on subjects connected to his
professional experience, thus being , doubtless, functional to his research.
Several books were donated to Maiuri from other scholars and there are many auto-
graph dedications recurring on some of them, as for instance on some of Benedetto
Croce's work regarding History, Philosophy and Literary Criticism.
To make the collection even more valuable there are also some limited editions like
Pompei alla luce dedili scavi nuovi di via dell’Abbondanza by Vittorio Spinazzola
and a beautiful replica of the Bibbia miniata by Borso d’Este, with silk antiporta and
dedicated autograph by Gio-
vanni Treccani.
The collection also includes the
largest part of the publications
of Maiuri.
The archaeologist often deman-
ded a writing style « capable of
reaching and emotionally in-
volve the highest number of
people» as it is stated by Benito
Izzi in the assay A proposito di
Maiuri prosatore.
This double image of expert ar-
cheologist and skilful narrator
marked all of his written pro-
duction: from the diaries of the
digs to the vibrant tales of his
“archaeological strolls”.
The reason why Maiuri chose
to combine scientific disserta-
tions together with writings
with didactic purposes, can be
summed up by the premise in
Vita d’Archeologo:
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
15

The archeologist are scolded , and above all the Italian

archaeologists, because they don't give enough credits
to what of adventurous, romantic and human experience
lies in every archaeological venture, such as to be inte-
resting to a higher number of people. With these little
writings published in the magazine il Fuidoro and else-
where and here collected, I don't mean to set neither an
example nor a model .
The constant intellectual activity of Maiuri provides us
with a very rich writing production, mainly related to
his job as a militant archeologist and Public functionary.
At the age of 70 Maiuri fills in on his own a bibliogra-
phy of his own writings.
Some editions to be printed again, for instance the vo-
lumes about Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Campi Fle-
grei published by the Istituto Poligrafico and Zecca
dello Stato, show some corrections on the sides, clear
sign of a revision made by Maiuri previous to the prin-
ting.
The collection also includes a conspicuous number of
volumes about the activity of Maiuri during the time in
which he was Superintendent in the Dodecanese Is-
lands. That is to say the digs of Lindo, Rodi, Jalisos, Ca-
miro and Bodrum: these writings have been the premise
to all the following archaeological researches.
Another significant part of the Fondo is a conspicuous
collection of abstracts and booklets written by Maiuri
during his professional life. Those were collected by
him and bound in several volumes divided by archaeo-
logical areas.
The collections also includes some didactic and biogra-
phic editions such as : Vita d’Archeologo, Passeggiate
Campane (in several editions) and Passeggiate in
Magna Grecia.
Among the most important publications of the archaeo-
logist there are two limited editions of Villa dei Misteri
and one sample of La Casa del Menandro e il suo Tesoro
di Argenteria published by Libreria dello Stato in 1933.
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

The papers archive and the pictures collection

Beyond the books collection, the Fondo Maiuri also includes some archive materials
of great historical interest, which belonged to the archeologist and his family.
Among the documentation there are five notebooks dated between 1924 and 1955;
they are travel diaries on which there are some observations on the places visited by
Maiuri during his Sunday strolls and the reports of the surveys made together with
his assistants in the archeological areas of Liternum, Sepino, Paestum,and Molise.
The collection also includes some pieces of newspapers with several interviews made
to Maiuri and his daughter Bianca, and some memorial newspaper articles.
The correspondence instead is made up of brief letters between Maiuri and persona-
lities of the academic world and not only: we can name the Principal of Università di
Napoli Adolfo Omodeo and his successor Ernesto Pontieri, and the Mayor of Capri,
Edwin Cerio.
The most important correspondence is the one he had between 1927 and 1938 with
the publisher George Macmillan, founder of the Hellenic Society of the British School
in Athens and of the Archaeology sector of the British School in Rome. These letters
talked about a collaboration for some papers between Maiuri and the publisher, for
the issuing of a volume in English about Herculaneum Ruins
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
17

A very interesting part of the collection is made by

a series of invitations and flayers (about 112) on
academic meetings and celebratory moments, col-
lected by Maiuri during his whole life.
Moreover, the collection includes several titles and
honours given to Maiuri during his life, among
which : 21 medals; 7 honorary citizenships (among
which Capri, Ercolano, Pompei and Rodi); the Ba-
chelor Degree in Humanities he got in 1909 at
Università La Sapienza and other academic re-
wards like the one of the Univeristy of Paris and
the one from the German Archeological Institute.
The Fondo also has a plaster bust of Maiuri and a
light blue livery of the Accademia Nazionale d'Ita-
lia (nowadays the Lincei)
Among the archive materials there are several do-
cuments of Maiuri family members, among which
17 letters of a correspondence Bianca had with
Carlo Belli between 1978 and 1982. The photogra-
phic section instead has 1190 images divided into
940 photographs, 48 slides and 202 images on
glass.
The photographs are on the following places: Pom-
peii, 370 pictures ( 1870-1962); Herculaneum, 161
pictures (1927-1955); Naples, 21 pictures (1913-
1976); Campi Flegrei, 277 pictures (1908-‐1966);
Liternum, 23 pictures (1934-1958); Archaeological
Museum of Naples, 54 pictures; Royal Palace of
Naples, 5 pictures (1943); Benevento, 1 picture;
other 28 private pictures of Amedeo Maiuri have to
be added (1937-1962).
The photographic plates and the slides are referred
to Pompeii and Herculaneum and are probably
dated back between the end of the 1950s and the
beginning of the 1960s

Pio Manzo
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

The activity of Maiuri through his writings

The work of A. Maiuri in
the Vesuvian area and in
particular in Pompeii was
impressive both for the
width of the areas involved
and for the attentive and
meticulous documentation
of the activities, in such a
way that the look that Pom-
peii still has nowadays is
the one provided by 40
years of efforts under the
leadership of the archaeolo-
gist. He arrived to Pompeii
after being called back
from Rhodes and was
named Superintendent in
Naples, after that Spinaz-
zola had been removed
from the office because of
an investigation. The demanding task was made even more difficult by the cautious suggestions,
if not even instructions, he was having by the Direzione Generale of Rome not to go on with
the digs of Pompeii and to limit the works to preservation and restoration. Maiuri pretended to
comply and with the excuse of completing the dig of small houses already started by Spinaz-
zola, he began the great exploration of the city. Almost 40 years of research and victories would
have followed. The results achieved by the archaeologist in Pompeii seem to be much more
then those obtained for the other cities buried by the Vesuvian eruption of 79 A.D., so much
more then, when he left the Soprintendenza of Pompeii, only one third of the original width
of the city was still buried.
He gave life to a methodical excavation, aiming to reconnect the different parts of the city dug
out so far, widening and completing the previous efforts. He made an exceptional job to clear
out the soil coming out from the previous digs, that had been accumulated to create a division
between the archaeological area and the surrounding lands. That was, by the way, accomplished
only on the southern border of the ancient city and after it was possible to bring to light the
House of M. Fabio Rufo as well, that still is the focus of the archaeological research by Uni-
versità Suor Orsola Benincasa of Naples.
Maiuri dug out the buildings south of Via dell’Abbondanza, reaching Porta Sarno and disco-
vering luxurious domus like, for instance, the House of Menander, the one of Paquio Proculo
and we owe him the identification of the so called “palestra grande”, whose existence had been
only assumed after the discovery of the fresco found in the House I, 3, 23 with the depiction
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
19

of the “brawl” between Pompeians and Nucerini in 57

A.D.
Such an extensive activity was possible only thanks to
the intelligence of Maiuri. His desire to bring back to
light the ancient city was facing the problem of where
to put the soil removed by the digs and he thought that
the earth could have been re-utilized for the reclamation
of the swampy areas of Schito and Boscotrecase. Maiu-
ri's project, together with Carlo Boni's motto “Digging
up Pompei, vegetables to all Naples” and with the inter-
vention of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, arranged for
the soil deposited in Schito and Boscoreale to be turned
into model gardens that produced fruits and vegetables
of excellent quality and that allowed at the same time the
recovery of the ancient city. Thus Maiuri was able to re-
sume the digs and, after having removed the soil that was
stifling the city, he discovered Porta Nocera, whose exi-
stence had always been doubted by other famous pom-
peianists, and the big necropolis next to it. All the city
walls from Porta Marina to Porta Stabia were freed and
eventually the bastions of the city came out as well. .
The scholar carried out extensive researches along the
city walls of Pompeii, giving a chronology that is still
considered the most valid, he explored the votive storage
space of the Temple of Apollo, and made some probings
in the Basilica .
In the north-western edge of Pompeii Maiuri completed
the digs - whose results were published in a luxury edi-
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

tion, with pictures in colors, by the title “ La Villa dei Misteri” (Roma 1947) - of the suburban
villa known at the time as “Item” after the name of the owner of the field, and since then rena-
med after the Mysteries. Together with his huge, intense and methodical work of restoration
of the main structures, he also led exploratory surveys, aiming to investigate both the layers of
the life of the city previous to the dominion of Rome (since 89 B.C.) and the time period bet-
ween the earthquake of 62 A.D. and the eruption of 79 A.D.
Maiuri also regularly took care of the fruition by the public of the vast archaeological area and
set up an Antiquarium right at the entrance of the ruins where the plaster casts and the most si-
gnificant finds were displayed. He added two new ticket offices, one in piazza Anfitetatro and
the other next to the Antiquarium, making the entrance of Porta Marina much easier, he arran-
ged gardens in the southern areas of the archaeological area, replanted some of the ancient
gardens and installed a lighting system. In such an enormous activity of digs, restoration, pro-
motion and fruition, Maiuri was helped by the technical staff and some support by the Soprin-
tendenza and never used scientific collaborations. The endless bibliography on Pompeii by the
archaeologist was focused on the history of the edification, on the phases of life of the city, on
the architecture and a little less on the materials or on decorative aspects of the ancient city.
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
21

Many famous scholars had preceded him in the digs and

in the study of the city of Pompeii but no one had ever
been able of rendering the sense of the life suddenly
stuck in time, from the houses, the shops, the public
buildings, of giving back through meticulous restora-
tions and attentive reconstructions, the image of the last
days of Pompeii. Thanks to his sensibility and his extra-
ordinary knowledge of the ancient world, Maiuri knew
how to “resuscitate” Pompeii also through his pages who
gave Pompeian men and women their lives back. Like
Giulia Felice “pompeian noblewoman”, entrepreneur
and careful manager of her family properties.
After many years, while admiring his own work he said
to himself: “So, between the earth for the reclamation
and the soil for the filling of the lands, I have leveled
hills and unearthed whole roads of Pompeii. The ground
is lowering day after day while the city rises and seems
more beautiful then ever. That is just what I have been
dreaming of”. He was called “vagabond archaeologist ”
from Belli for his tireless presence on the ruins, for his
frequent surveys to which he had to add the heavy duties
of the Office, the everyday study, the intense activity of
writer and the hours dedicated to the duties of public ap-
pearances and we are still left wondering how he was
able to do so much and in such an impeccable way.

Rosaria Ciardiello
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri
Amedeo Maiuri
and the latest digs in the south-western area of Pompeii
Introduction
Since 2004 the University “Suor Orsola Benincasa” in Naples, with its International Center
for the Pompeian Studies “Amedeo Maiuri” has been participating in Pompeii with the wide
project of study and re-
search, “Pompei Insula
Occidentalis – Le case
sulle mura”. The rese-
arch focuses on two dif-
ferent highly interesting
areas to understand the
urban development, in-
side and outside the city
walls of Pompeii, speci-
fically in the areas
South of Porta Marina
(Imperial villa, Grana-
ries) and the Insula Oc-
cidentalis (Regiones VI
e VII), both brought to
light by the great Supe-
rintendent Amedeo Ma-
iuri between 1947 and 1961. The archaeological investigation through stratigraphic digs
carried out in the area of the garden of the Imperial Villa, of the House of Marco Fabio Rufo,
of the Golden Bracelet, and soon of Maius Castricius, reached the goal of documenting and
studying this section of the South-western border of Pompeii in all of its urban, architectonic,
decorative and social aspects, adding an important piece to the comprehension of the birth
and development of this urban area of the city, that was eventually dug out only since 1959
with the excavations led by Amedeo Maiuri, that achieved the discovery of a new exit passage
of the city from Via Nolana, never identified yet but only foretold by Maiuri himself: the Oc-
cindentalis Gate.

Insula Occidentalis, Regiones VI,VII

“The surveys done in this sector have not revealed any trace of a gate so far, but only the com-
plete removal of the stacks of debris will be able to solve the problem, under the houses made
in imperial time, of the western junction of the major decumano of Via di Nola.” Thus with
these words Amedeo Maiuri, wished a continuation of the archaeological investigations in
one of the most interesting and crucial areas to understand the urban and social stratigraphy
of Pompeii : the Insula Occidentalis which had seen light again thanks to him. Already Fiorelli
had previously realized the importance of that area to understand the urbanism laying between
the city gates, those of Ercolano and Marina, the western city walls, the houses and one of
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
23

the most important road, via di Nola.

The data he had, were included in his dig diaries, gathe-
red by him in the Pompeianarum Antiquitatum Historia
and better explained in the description of Pompeii that
had to be related to the cartography left by the La Vegas
between 1789 and 1809. The narrow urbanized district
on the western side of the city walls , in the area inclu-
ded between Herculaneum Gate and the House of Um-
bricius Scauro ( VII , 16 , 12-14 ) , had in fact already
been investigated in 1759 during the excavation made
in the area, included between Porta Ercolano Necropolis
and in the interior of the city .
In the planning and progression of the digs, this area be-
came a place for the dumping of the debris of the exca-
vation , thus creating the so called “ Bourbon
accumulations”, that are still visible in the plan of An-
drea de Jorio of 1839. The homogeneous vision of the
residential complex in the urban layout, as a result of a
precise construction plan made in a span of time that
started at least at the beginning of the II century B.C.
,was compromised first by the Bourbon planning of the
digs, and secondly by the division by Fiorelli of the In-
sula Occidentalis into two regiones, related to the ne-
cessity of the period to provide a topographic
organization for all that had been found at the time, with
the division of the whole city into nine regiones .
In fact in 1875 Fiorelli described the Insula Occidentalis
like this : “ Entering the city from Porta Ercolano, there
is a built up area on the right that spreads to Porta Ma-
rina and lays on the slope of the territory of the public
city walls. Almost entirely discovered in the early digs
and afterward buried after the first researches, it forms
an island that has its accessible front from the street and
keeps the inner buildings, which lay on the slope of the
hill, still buried.” thus summing up in few lines the hi-
story of the area and implying the urban relation bet-
ween the pre-existent road ( Via Consolare) and the city
wall.
Hence, the history of the digs of the House of Marco
Fabio Rufo and of all the ones in the Insula Occidenta-
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

lis, is affected by all those elements that characterized the investigation and the study of this
part of the city. In fact, looking the plan of the La Vega brothers closely, it's possible to notice
how only the first floor had been recorded , even if with some imperfection, as for instance
in the disposition of the circular exedra, wrongly reported in a more southern point.
To dig out the houses we must wait for Amedeo Maiuri that chose to free all of the west front
of the city from the Bourbon accumulations. Maiuri immediately restored the house that see-
med to have withstood quite well to the destructive impact of the eruption, except for the cen-
tral circular exedra. The restoration was followed by the first publications that were mainly
focused on the most important finds, like the two cameo-glass plates with Dionysian subject.
At the end of 1970s the house was the focus of a new archaeological campaign that brought
to light the underlying garden , leading to a second round of restorations. In 1974 a seal-ring
with the inscription M. Fab. Ruf. was found in the basement 10 of the close House of the Gol-
den Bracelet, proving the name of the last owner of these houses as it had already been partly
noted by Giordano while reading the graffiti found both in the House of Marco Fabio Rufo
and in the so called house of Maius Castricius.
Such architectonic complex had been waiting a long time for a publishing that would include
the analysis of both the planimetric development and the walls structures, seen in relation to
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
25

the wall decorations and mosaics, linked to the data

emerging from the new digs, in continuation of the first
research carried out by Maiuri and now at last publi-
shed.

Regio VII: Porta Marina - Villa Imperiale

Already in 1876 Fiorelli had the feeling that the subur-
ban area of this section of the city was occupied by more
buildings leaning to the city walls: “ The modern road
that leads to this Gate [Porta Marina editor's note], pas-
sing through the debris from the excavation of the year
1817 and following others, edges the area of the city
walls and opens out on the ancient road, that from the
city descended to the plain below through a strong
slope.
Inaccessible to the carts and paved with big polygonal
boulders of Vesuvian stone, this should have been filled
with houses and gardens stretching on the hillsides for
a long section, covering it with luxuriant vegetation. No-
wadays this side is still all buried under the ash, and next
to the Gate only few ruins of one building are visible,
with remains of five pillars supporting the upper cena-
cles.
Left of the Gate there is a constructed seat, above which
a layabout carved the name of the prostitute Attica and
the price at which she was selling her virtues; on the
right there is an aedicule, in which a fragment of the ter-
racotta simulacrum of Minerva was found, showing the
guardian goddess of the Gates of Pompeii standing,
with the arm wrapped in the chlamys and the fist on the
hip while the other hand is on the shield.
The votive lamp in gold was found not far from there
and it is so far the only sample among the large collec-
tions of sacred decors and one of the most admirable
and precious finds of the Museum in Naples...It seems
that, after the construction of the Gate, some places next
to the territory of the public walls were joint to them,
giving access from the same entrance and from the po-
merium, so to become a storage facility of the merchan-
dises coming by the sea. At least such seems the use of
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

that crypt, that is on the right if you go up and contains the MUSEO POMPEIANO, the de-
stination of which cannot be certain, not until the monuments will be transported elsewhere
and it will be given its previous state back.”
Fiorelli described in this way the area of Porta Matina in his Descrizione di Pompei, highli-
ghting many interesting data. First of all, with the sentence “ The modern road who leads to
this Gate...” Fiorelli implied that the exterior of the city walls in those years still appeared oc-
cupied by the stack of debris from the previous Bourbon excavations.
In a following passage he explicitly mentioned a building next to Porta Marina of which “

only few ruins are visible...”; with “pillars” that should be those pertaining to the porticoed
sidewalk leading to the entrance of the Suburban Bath, dug out in recent years. Later Fiorelli
also described two interesting discoveries, occurred few meters away from each other “on
the right there is an aedicule in which a fragment of a simulacrum of Minerva was found...The
votive lamp in gold was found not far from there ...”. A terracotta statue of Minerva was inside
the niche built outside the entrance of what nowadays we know to be one of the access to the
Villa Imperiale, while the golden lamp, now in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, was
found few meters far away.
With a careful look to the map of Pompeii made by Fiorelli it's possibile to notice that both
the place of finding of the Minerva and the access to that crypt, mentioned in the successive
passage, are showed, “ that crypt that is on the right if you go up and that has the MUSEO
POMPEIANO...” . The crypt mentioned by Fiorelli seems to be very well documented in the
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
27

map and is made up of one room with a quadrangular

shape and barrel vault, with a skylight in the ceiling,
used as a momentary storage facility of the finds of the
Ruins of city .
The scholar also guessed the function it could have had
“...of storage facility for the merchandises coming by
the sea.” Fiorelli also mentioned a series of close
rooms, crossing from North to South the whole area be-
hind the walls, ending behind F2 and F1 in the area of
the villa Imperiale.
Such spaces seem to have been obtained in an area bet-
ween the terracing of the Temple of Venus and the ex-
ternal line of the limestone city walls. The night of
August 25th 1943 a bomb hit and destroyed the Museo
Fiorelli. The building was rebuilt after the war and the
chosen area was the one next to the western walls South
of Porta Marina. The reasons of the choice were double:
on one hand it was possible to lay the Museum on the
embankment, made on this side by the accumulation of
the debris of the previous digs; on the other it was pos-
sible to exploit the fornix for the entrance of Porta Ma-
rina on the North and some surviving masonry at South,
among which the supports of the terrace of the Temple
of Venus for sure.
Some constructions emerging from the stack of debris
were still visible at that time, but it was given them no
consideration at all, due to the need of providing the
ruins with a museum, in compliance with the new poli-
tical course due to the Italian Unification.

Sections of the walls in opus incertum, in the rear wall

of the so called Esedra dei Pompeianisti, are still visible
today, while on the back of the modern Antiquarium that
overlapped the previous building of Fiorelli, there are
sectors of walls in opus incertum and reticulatum and a
big cistern.
In the project of fixing the damages of the war, Amedeo
Maiuri (Superintendent from 1924 to 1961) put at first
place the reconstruction of the museum and the arran-
gement of the main entrance of Porta Marina. The new
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

museum or “Antiquarium”, that is the one still visible nowadays, was places on an artificial
terrace below the western side of the terrace of the Temple of Venus. By clear will of Maiuri,
that didn't want to farther destroy the underlying ruins, it came to largely overlap the founda-
tions of the old Museum. In fact, apart from small changes, the focus point of the rooms in
the central axis of the entrance from Porta Marina corresponded to the old big room of the ni-
neteenth century, while new constructions were made by the jutting part South of the “Esedra
dei Pompeianisti” and of the access stairway.
Built from 1945 to 1947, it was inaugurated on June 13th 1948. During the works on the slope

to build the new ramp of southern access, the imposing supports of the Temple of Venus and
the western section of the city walls of the IV-III century B.C. emerged from the stack of de-
bris, while during the works for the clearing to build the new museum and the entrance of
Porta Marina, the ruins of the building, of what at the time was guessed to be a suburban villa,
came out. The digs started on December of 1946 and went on till April 17th 1948 and after
that the restoration of the wall paintings began. In the mean time, from 1946-1947 Amedeo
Maiuri started the first digs of the area outside the fortification walls of the south-western side
of the city of Pompeii, related to the plan of removing the Bourbon accumulations outside
the city, that were covering the houses in some areas, for instance the Regio VIII.
During this time, also the fornix of the Granary, that was leaning on the 29 structures of the
Villa already abandoned by the time, was excavated and inside it Maiuri found some bodies,
which he described in this way “A group of fugitives found shelter under the vaulted room
that today works as an entrance and their bodies were found next to a pile of coins and some
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
29

furnishing: one of them had a precious ring with a finely

inlaid onyx showing a female figure.” Maiuri himself
wondered what the actual use of this building was, na-
ming it “Villa Imperiale”, based on the splendid III style
decoration quite stylistically close to the one of the Far-
nesina in Rome, and what the possible cause of decline
was, such to allow the construction of the big Granary.
He supposed that those could have been vaults and sup-
ports used for the new edification of the Temple of
Venus “But the villa was in demolition and the rustic
walls and the vaults were part of the impressive supports
of the terraces of the above Temple of Venus”. In fact,
the digs carried out from 1946 to 1948 revealed that the
building had already been destroyed during ancient
times, but what was left was enough to help Maiuri un-
derstand he was facing one of the most beautiful and
sumptuous house of ancient Pompeii: one wing of the
portico, of at least 80 meters, the longest ever found in
Pompeii, the amublatio ( c ); a hall (A) with majestic
paintings covered by the wider vault in the city, among
which the ones visible on the eastern wall, had a refined
III style decorative set; one diaeta (B), a windowed hall
(C ); all interposed by vestibules, corridors and gardens.
To this inner features of the plan, there was the addition
of the unusual layout of the building: its unauthorized
construction on public land, leaning on the urban walls,
and the bossy occupation of a public road, the Via anti-
qua, with the embankment of the garden in front of the
portico.
Later in 1950 a detailed survey was made under the gar-
den overlooking the portico of the Villa, which showed
a section of the Via antiqua deleted by a big filling of
the land and cut by the construction of a cistern, that
started from Porta Marina heading along a strong slope
towards South.
In the years 1980-1984, during the works of the recon-
struction of the modern Antiquarium, some stratigraphic
digs have been carried out inside the palace of the mu-
seum, on the overlooking terrace and in the “Esedra dei
Pompeianisti”, those digs revealed a series of cisterns
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

and pillars supporting the upstairs of the Villa. The cisterns with signs of wreckage, were al-
ready not in use by 79 A.D. and filled in with debris (fragment of painted plaster, stucco, ce-
ramics, rocks, a bone comb etc.)
Thus, 28 boxes were filled with one-color painted plasters, among which some with architec-
tonic motif (many) and figurative (few) have been examined and for the largest part belonging
to the III style. In 1992-1994 other surveys were carried out by Jacobelli in the area next to
the access road to Porta Marina. The surveys, that are still waiting for a publishing, showed
the existence of a further inhabited layer, the third one below the one of the portico (c), be-
longing to the Villa.
From 2004 to 2006 a new research, carried out in the area of the first floor of the Villa and
connected to the restoration and modernization of the Antiquarium in Pompeii, intended to
study the structures of the area that are witnesses of the important supporting works, made
necessary by the urban location of the villa, leaning on the city walls, and the following in-
tervention of function-changing of the building with the regular demolition of the inhabited
strata.

Mario Grimaldi
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology

Amedeo Maiuri,
31

a life for Archaeology

No catastrophe ever gave so much pleasure
to the future generation,
like the one that buried these Veansuvian cities.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Nowadays there is no scholar of the Classic world or of the

Ancient Mediterranean that do not know the name and the
work of Amedeo Maiuri. To him and to his tireless and pre-
cious activity of planning the digs, and the following pre-
servation and publishing of them, we owe the promotion of
the wide archaeological heritage, that was still buried up to
the last Century. It is not superfluous to remind that his im-
pressive activity of excavation and the collection of the evi-
dence of priceless archaeological and historical value, left
deep marks in the Italian cultural scenery.
When reading his essays, a close connection of collabora-
tions with people, with his colleagues and the world of di-
vulgation shine through. He didn't hesitate to spend his time
for those who, intrigued by the continues unexpected Pom-
peian discoveries, had the curiosity to tell common people
about the time of the great discoveries, and he opened to
the cameras, with great enthusiasm, the most hidden places
and the most private moments of his researches on the field.
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

His workers and assistants kept a loving memory of this polite man with the straw hat that personally
took care of the digs with a never-changing enthusiasm. And today, now as yesterday, we almost
have the feeling of reliving these moments in the faded images of the Istituto Luce that go with the
exhibit. For many students and scholars, the places promoted by him evoke precious memories.
Mine is related to his passage in Cuma and the reading of the Passeggiate Campane, the fascinating
report of many years spent “strolling” around the historical and natural beauties of our region. He
was tireless. He was so in love with his Campania, that he used to describe it with the passion of the
artist, the dedication of the historian and the precision of the scientist. With the virtuosity that only
the most skilled among the communicators have, he talked about characters of past and present in
a mix of reality and imagination. Colorful folk figures meeting Roman emperors and poets of all
eras, medieval queens and modern innkeepers, in an extraordinary twirl of newly found and re-
membered worlds that, now as yesterday, populate Naples, Sorrento, Baia and Cuma, Capua, Nola
and the Flegreian islands.
Today the city of Pompeii dedicates an award to this great scholar of the last Century. Our wish is
that this may be the opportunity to remind all those who bear the responsibility of the protection
and promotion of our common assets, that our cultural heritage is a fragile resource and has to be
managed with respect and love.

Laura Del Verme

from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
33

Pompeian Memories
Interview to Vincenzo Sicignano
November 23rd 2014

How old were you when you first met Maiuri, which
were the circumstances, and which were your fee-
lings and what is your opinion on this great scholar?

It was July 26th 1951 and by the time I was taking

part to the so called “working campaign”, when one
day, next to Porta Anfiteatro, Don Amedeo Maiuri
came at 7,30 in the morning; we were a group of
fifty young men . The Professor gathered us to give
us a good talk : he told us that since that day we were
to quit eating first and second courses, but we were
to begin eating bread and onions. - that was my first
meeting with Maiuri. First we started working in the
area of the Regio I where the dig was still made by
using trowel and pickaxe and other seventeen men
and I began the excavation of the House of Cerere.
Later we kept on working on the House of the Beau-
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

tiful Impluvium, thought to be part of the Regio II, Insula I at first and then allocated to
the Regio I. Therefore, I took part to the working campaign till 1953; later, always sta-
ying in the ruins area, I worked in the sector of the Necropolis of Porta Nocera. All of
this was happening under the superintendency of Maiuri! Only later, in 1953, when also
the Professor Carlo Giordano, disciple of Maiuri and employed in the Regional Admi-
nistration, came to work in Pompeii, I had the chance to be for a long time in close con-
tact with Don Amedeo, whom I met for the last time on April 1962, when, during the
digs of the Insula Occidentalis, a vault with a beautiful Medusa came out; that was hap-
pening after five months I had been put in retirement.

Don Vincenzo, how was Maiuri with his assistants and what opinion do you have about
Maiuri as Superintendent?

Maiuri had a quite small circle of collaborators, but, as far as I know, he was greatly re-
spected , above all in Pompeii (there was Alfonso D'Avino who was his valid assistant
for many years, in fact he was also mentioned in the book of the Professor “L'ultima
fase edilizia a Pompei”). In my humble opinion, Maiuri had an immense vision not only
about Pompeii but about the whole Campania territory with its digs, as he had already
started his working activity in 1915, when he was Inspector in Rhodes and he arranged
for the restoration of the “Palazzo dei Cavalieri”, together with the big Museum. As far
as the opinions of other pompeianists go, we enter in a minefield because there was a
lot of competition : there was the School of Bianchi Bandinelli, the other schools....so
everyone had their own vision.

Do you remember any Sunday in the Ruins with Maiuri?

Maiuri came often to Pompeii on Sundays to talk to the different executives and to get
news.
Every time Don Amedeo came, the Prof Giordano always gave him candies. Once Gior-
dano was not able to come and after announcing me Maiuri visit, he entrusted me to give
him candies, and I was up to the task . I saw him again when the nine bodies, of which
casts were made, emerged from the digs; they were lined up on the highest part of the
future Garden of the Fugitives . One of them seemed crouched and had a bag with him,
accessory that helped Maiuri recognize him as a “beggar”. The only cast put in the exact
place where the body was found is the one out from Porta Nocera- I should have a picture
somewhere because in that occasion a journalist, of whom I cannot recall the name, came
- but if I find the negative I'll bring it to you because it is a rarity that no one else owns
- if I find it I'll give it to you as a present. I've never seen the daughter Bianca in the
Ruins, who at that time was working in the National Museum of Naples. Instead, on a
picture of 1932, there is the first daughter Ada, if I'm not wrong, who married a famous
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
35

university professor, a veterinarian; both of them

died soon after the war.

Interview to Giuseppe Lindinerro

February 28th 2015

When did you meet Maiuri and which was your role
in the archaeological ruins of Pompeii?

I met Maiuri when I was still a child, it was around

1938-40, because my father had gotten an accommo-
dation in the Casina dell'Aquila inside Pompeii
ruins, thanks to the Professor himself. When I was
about 4 , I moved in with my dad to live inside the
site. At the time I was too young to realize where I
was. I remember the house where Don Amedeo used
to come, above all during Summer; it was a resi-
dency in the area of Porta Stabia, now one of those
that are not inhabited anymore. Also the Professor
Giuseppe Spano used to live close, and afterward
Stefano De Caro went to live there too, in another
apartment. I used to see the house window of Maiuri
from my house and every night, when my dad saw
the light at the window he exclaimed: “ The Profes-
sor has come”...Being only a child, I used to go play
in the area of the theaters with some friends of mine,
as also the daughters of Maiuri used to do ( Bainca
Maiuri told that in the Danza dei serpenti); we were
few and I used to see the professor passing there, but
for me he was only an ordinary man. When I began
my studies, I started respecting that man (at the time
the Archaeologist was an exceptional figure and fa-
mous to everyone). I remember Don Amedeo at the
time as “ master mason” because all the life of the
ruins revolved around him: he looked after every
aspect, took care of the relation with his employees
(among which there was my dad too); he also had his
trustworthy men to whom he entrusted particular
tasks. He was an open-minded compassionate man
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

who understood everyone's needs, and life used to go on like that...He personally took
care of the digs and the restoration and sometimes he got quite angry when, for instance,
an architrave was wider or less wide of what he expected (as it happened in the House
of the Four Styles that was still under excavation was I was a child). Maiuri was in our
everyday life...With the war, the always present Professor,decided to move most of the
materials to Cassino to save them ( I also remember the name of the two guardians in
charge of safeguarding this assets of Pompeii: one man called Giovanni Racise and an
other very young one, Troschi...). The attention was then focused on the horrors of the
war and Maiuri managed to remove from the houses of Pompei all the items that he had
instead showed in place (he had made a nice showcase in the House of Menander, he
had left the items on the selling counter of the thermopolium of Asellina, he had saved
the bronze vases and the various obscene items, among which also the famous phallic
lamp with the bells in the shop of Verus)...We were waiting everything but the bombs
on Pompeii, instead in September a bombing hit all the area of Porta Marina and destro-
yed the old Museum build by Fiorelli. I remember one night the poor Professor, exited
from his house at Porta Stabia, reached our house in Casina dell'Aquila to comfort us.
He talks about it himself when he tells that in the moment in which the flares were shot,
it seemed noon in the Casina dell'Aquila....Maiuri was also wounded in a leg. After the
war, the damages in Pompeii were inestimable and were spread to the whole area ; via
dell'Abbondanza seemed to have survived an earthquake, all the facades of the houses
had to be consolidated, the glass that protected the electoral graffiti was all
shattered....So it was a huge disaster...Nevertheless Don Amedeo soon made an effort
trying to save whatever was possible through restoration works; nowadays often these
rushed works are criticized but we need to keep in mind that at the time the funds were
very scarce and that for some restorations the manpower used was the one the Admini-
stration had at the time. And yet, big recovery works were carried out. Among the most
important interventions I remember the lifting of all the colonnade of the House of Epi-
dio Rufo where the sixteen columns of the Corinthian atrium were all in pieces on the
ground... In the mean time I finished my high school in classical studies in tragic cir-
cumstances, due to the death of my father and the extreme poverty that made University
unaffordable for me. At that time, always thanks to Don Amedeo, some works were about
to start, by using the funds of the Cassa del Mezzogiorno which saw, among other inter-
ventions, the reclamation of the Gardens of Schito, between Pompeii and Castellammare
through the use of the soil accumulated all around the fortifications. Maiuri always cared
about modern Pompeii as well and made sure that the whole area between the old and
the new Pompeii was set, that is why he opened the square of the Anfiteatro, by removing
the big stacks of soil that were still accumulated along the road. I still needed to find a
job and having turned 18, my mother asked Maiuri if he would let me work in the Ruins.
Knowing me as the son of Lindinerro and as a too "refined" person, the Professor did
not want me to be a manual laborer, but it was the only position he could offer at the
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
37

time and despite everything, I accepted the

job...After a month spent by taking care of different
tasks, I was transfered to the technical office where
my job was to record all the materials found during
the digs. It was a huge amount of items but Maiuri
intervened on the most excellent finds himself.
Hence I started up a job that was amazing for me and
that's when “I was infected by archaeology”...I ap-
plied for the University, and if I was meant to attend
Law first, I later changed my mind and I picked Hu-
manities where there were already both mandatory
and elective classes. Among the latter there was Ma-
iuri's course “Antichità Pompeiane” which of course
I took. Maiuri himself and his assistant, Giovano
Oscar Onorato, examined me. The oral test went
very well (I got 30 cum laude [A+, translator’s note]
and I said it very proudly). After the exam I was still
meeting the Professor from time to time, always with
his cane and his notebook to take notes on the evo-
lution of the works, which I often went to peek, so-
metimes even secretly . I did not have any contact
with Don Amedeo anymore, but we kept on coming
across and greeting each other. I remember once I
met him in the House of the Vettii. He was there with
some guests while I was engaged in a tour with some
people. I paused to give him some space but he did
not want to interrupt me. This was the kindness,
class and the decency of Maiuri. He was a man of
great kindness , an ancient humanitas ,but not trivia-
lized by the modern notion of humanity that cannot
express such a deep and moral sense of the Latin
term. I had heard about the retirement of the Profes-
sor and one day I went to the National Museum with
a friend, who was interested in starting some colla-
borations with the Soprintendenza, where at the
time it was still possible to pay the fee to join the
“Amici di Pompeii”. We met Maiuri there, by then
already looked with hate and considered a centrali-
zer by many, and he asked my friend a ride to go
back to Pompeii. During the ride Don Amedeo asked
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

me how things were going in the site. I told him that, due to the increasing number of
thefts, they were about to close all the houses and to take away the last material left in
the site, like the small marble statues. And Maiuri gave me an answer that still resonates
in my mind : “the more houses are closed the more they will get damaged”. Of course,
when I heard about Maiuri's death I went to the funeral. I remember the casket passing
from the National Museum and reaching the University where a big crowd had gathered
and the Archaeology Professor Domenico Mustilly delivered his eulogy .

How much ancient Pompeii , of which Maiuri had a romantic vision, has changed com-
pared to nowadays?

Maiuri mainly wanted the ancient world to be known and he especially took care of the
divulgation of the antiquities, and that's maybe also the reason why he was accused of
fascism. He preferred to be surrounded by common people and he was quite rarely spot-
ted walking around the Ruins with an Inspector; he used to go alone and was sometimes
accompanied by the technician of the site Alfondo D'Avino or even by the master mason
in charge of the restoration activities...He loved having a direct relation with the workers
rather then with the theoretical researchers, to whom he allowed to do their job anyway.
That, of course, sometimes hurt the sensibility of the Inspectors which aimed to be the
direct collaborators and that should have been those allowed to join him in those visits.
Instead, when Don Amedeo used to came to Pompeii, Alfonso D'Avino was there waiting
at the entrance, ready to go along with him. Even I , just a common man, was given the
task of making a survey of all the portals with squared capitals, proving that Maiuri pre-
ferred to establish a direct connection with more humble people because he loved people
who were interested in learning about the ancient world. For this reason he stated that
to close the house of Pompeii meant to lead them towards a relentless fate thus denying
the future knowledge and fruition. As further proof of this there was the fact that the
Professor, in occasion of the planning of the shows in the Teatro Grande, was always
able to obtained from the acting company the dress rehearsals to be open to the public.
Thanks to this, we all, including me, the technicians, the workers, the guardians, the far-
mers...could go with our families to see the show and maybe to see Sofocles...Maiuri
stated that this direct contact with people was fundamental! The Professor had his own
very personal connection with the city of Pompeii, even if the Pompeians seem to have
forgotten about it now, he wanted the city to develop around the ruins, so to welcome
the tourism and benefit from it. The decline of Pompeii started when Maiuri left, that is
to say when they began to do things with too much bureaucracy involved and the loving
relation between the high profile functionary and the monument just went missing. Then,
Unions problems occurred, leading to the lack of that working class that with Maiuri
was able to start a career from simple manual works and then to get more specialized,
rising the level and getting rich, but still giving important contribution to the Ruins any-
from Rhodes to Pompeii A life for archeology
39

way. There are some works carried out by Raffaele

Oliva, that was officially and originally just a simple
manual laborer; not to mention the drawing of the
globe from Stabiae made by De Vivo who was an il-
literate and used to work at the entrance to the Ca-
serma dei Gladiatori, where there was once the
Cappella di S, Paolino. So it was all a complete dif-
ferent world, a managment that knew how to use the
capacities, the love, the interests, differently from
today where everything is bureaucracy and thus ste-
rile. That is what is truly missing!

Fabiana Fuschino
 International Prize Amedeo Maiuri

Summary

Preface pag. 3

Amedeo Maiuri from Rhodes to Pompeii pag. 5

The found Amedeo Maiuri pag 12

The activity of Maiuri through his writings pag. 18

Amedeo Maiuri and the latest digs

in the south-western area of Pompeii pag 22

Amedeo Maiuri, a life for Archaeology pag 31

Pompeian Memories pag. 33