For Immediate Release Contact: Pat Kremer (312) 665-7100 (For Media Use Only) Pompeii: Stories from an Eruption October 22, 2005 through March 26, 2006 “A fearful black cloud was rent by forked and quivering bursts of flame, and parted to reveal great tongues of fire… Darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a closed room. You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men… Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness.” – Letter from Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus, 79 AD It began with a loud crack, followed by a sharp rumble moving across the plain from the nearby mountain. An enormous column of dark smoke and debris rose from the mountain’s peak, growing to a height of tens of thousands of feet before it flattened and spread out against the sky, blotting out the sun. A few moments of calm, and then the “rains” came to Pompeii—first a shower and then a downpour of pumice, ash, and red-hot boulders. Later that night a powerful surge of super-heated volcanic gases, rocks, and ash raced down the mountain, burying nearby Herculaneum and those who had sought shelter near the shore. They would remain buried for nearly 1700 years. Pompeii: Stories from an Eruption tells the story of the people who lost their lives, and the vibrant society that was destroyed, in the eruption of the world’s most famous volcano, Mount Vesuvius. Through the things they carried as they fled, the works of art and everyday objects they left behind, and heartbreaking casts of victims who were buried in the ashes, the exhibition brings to life real people from the ancient world. Valuable jewelry, coins, and silver; brilliantly colored frescoes and mosaics; everyday objects from tools and keys to food abandoned on a table—all serve to tell the stories of people and society in the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Oplontis. As they explore those stories, visitors will learn about the extraordinary events that led to the cities’ destruction and ensured their preservation, and they’ll discover how archaeologists are using their finds to reconstruct the details of everyday life. Pompeii: Stories from an Eruption was organized by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza archeologica di Pompei. It is supported by Compagnia di San Paolo with the assistance of Autostrade Meridionali. Continue>>