ESEMPI DI “NON-FINITO” NELLA DECORAZIONE PARIETALE DELLE CITTÀ VESUVIANE

Abstract

Looking at the evidence of Roman wall paintings from the Vesuvian area, it is not possible to apply the
terms “intentionally unfinished” to the execution of these works. Within the Vesuvian towns, it is possible
to recognise wall decorations that are unfinished because their execution was suddenly interrupted by the
eruption of AD 79. Furthermore, it is possible to identify wall paintings with missing elements, which were
“completed” with other decorative media, such as marble paintings and marble reliefs, marble incrustations,
golden and cameo glasses, wooden panels, textiles, etc. These luxurious decorative materials were often integrated
into the painted decorative schemes of the wealthy houses of Pompeii, Herculaneum and the villas
around Vesuvius. Another category of decorations that can be taken into account for the topic of this volume
comprises the numerous examples of ancient wall paintings that were “not restored”, or “not renewed”
in the final years before the eruption of AD 79. Many of these were restored with raw plaster, to isolate the
walls from humidity, continuing to use the old damaged painting rather than providing the walls with a new
decoration. Such circumstance reveal an interesting phenomenon of urban resilience. The inhabitants of
Pompeii and Herculaneum, being aware of the continuous damage caused by the earthquakes between AD
62 and 79, and waiting for a new phase of seismic quiescence, preferred in many cases to continue to repair
the old and damaged paintings rather than renew them.