Back to Pompeii

PREFACE

Marco Cavalieri, Professor of Roman Archaeology and Italic Antiquities at UCLouvain.

Cultural experience can be lived in many ways. For an academic like myself, it takes form primarily through scientific research, which is inseparable from its transmission through teaching. However, another path has become essential today: making high-quality culture accessible to the widest possible audience.

It was this conviction that motivated me to play a key role in the scientific validation of the exhibition Return to Pompeii. Its objective? To guarantee the accuracy of the content and the pacing of the visit, while striking the right balance between entertainment and genuine educational value.

Drawing on my excavation experience in the Mediterranean Roman world, particularly in Pompeii (House of the Centenary IX, 8, 6), I subscribe to a new way of approaching archaeology in its relationship with contemporary society and diverse audiences. Moving away from insular circles and elitist visions, archaeology today must assume a more active and useful role for society, capable of encouraging citizen participation.

The possible fields of intervention are numerous: they range from communication and popularization to the presence of archaeology in the media and on social networks; from cultural heritage education—particularly for children—to economic development projects. An increasingly sensitive theme is that of public participation, known as “Community Archaeology”: archaeology oriented towards the public and, in particular, towards collaboration between archaeologists and non-specialists.

Although the motivations may differ, the collaboration with TEMPORA for the Return to Pompeii exhibition meets the precise needs of a public, participatory archaeology capable of entertaining, provoking thought, and educating.

RETURN TO POMPEII – IN A FEW WORDS…

The Return to Pompeii exhibition in Brussels invites you to travel back in time and dive into the heart of Pompeii, the ancient city frozen in history by the fury of Mount Vesuvius.

For the first time, the journey blends different forms of immersion: physical sets, role-playing, activities, soundscapes, virtual reality, and immersive projection. Visitors will stroll through a house and a street in Pompeii, moments before the tragedy of the city’s destruction by the eruption of Vesuvius.

Through sound—a truly original soundtrack—the public steps into the shoes of a family whose final hours they will follow. Bedrooms, a school, a laundry, a bakery, a perfumery, a tavern… these spaces will host the daily activities of the era in which everyone can participate, all while feeling the tension rise, just as the inhabitants did on that fateful morning.

Before the final moment, there will still be time to witness a gladiator fight in Virtual Reality within the great amphitheater of Pompeii. Just before being engulfed, thanks to immersive projection, by the pyroclastic flows spewed by the volcano…

These immersive techniques will convey a range of emotions to the audience: anxiety, sadness, fear, surprise, amusement, and even admiration. But they all share a common thread: respect for historical reality. This makes the exhibition a genuinely playful course in the history of Roman antiquity.

Key Highlights:

• 1,200 m² of physical sets, meticulously recreated and faithful to archaeological discoveries.

• A fictional narrative audio guide that recounts the destiny of a family during the morning preceding the eruption.

• A series of interactive installations allowing the visitor to participate in the life of an ancient city.

• A gladiator fight in Virtual Reality in the great amphitheater of Pompeii.

• An immersive film that plunges the visitor into the heart of the catastrophe.

• An all-inclusive price: includes the exhibition route, the audio guide, the VR experience, and the immersive show.

INTRODUCTION – WHY (SUCH) AN EXHIBITION ON POMPEII?

A Major Archaeological Landmark Alongside the Pyramids, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, the ruins of the Inca city of Machu Picchu, or the Terracotta Army surrounding the tomb of China’s first emperor, Pompeii is a major archaeological marker of human history. These are revealers of lifestyles and beliefs that have shaped humanity and our history.

The ruins of Pompeii occupy a unique place in this lineage: its destruction was a tragedy for its inhabitants (direct victims or those in exile with no return), but a stroke of luck for us. The suddenness and force of the eruption froze the city. Through archaeological discoveries, it has revealed itself like a photograph, a snapshot of life two thousand years ago. Everything remains as it was on that morning in the year 79 AD; even, alas, the bodies of those who did not have time to flee.

Presenting this singular moment of history to a very broad audience—who may be unfamiliar with the civilization it displays (to which, however, we owe so much!)—means reconnecting with the past and weaving ties across centuries. This is a concern that has driven Tempora throughout its 25 years of existence.

Diverse and Varied Immersive Techniques There have been—and there are—many other exhibitions about Pompeii. We would like to believe that Return to Pompeii holds a special place among them.

Firstly, as mentioned, because we have employed diverse and varied immersive techniques, not just the usual 360° projection that has become so trendy. The fiction presented in the audio guide, which allows each person to identify with a family member, naturally reinforces the proximity to the theme.

A journey designed in “3D” (real physical sets and Virtual Reality) plunges visitors into that time and space, even more so than a visit to the tourist site of Pompeii today. These are the reasons we preferred meticulous, detailed replicas over authentic excavated artifacts. Authentic objects must be protected behind glass cases… which did not exist in the houses of Pompeii in 79! We absolutely wanted visitors to “believe they were there,” for the two hours spent in our exhibition to be experienced as a journey through time and space.

The objects here are everyday items that visitors can handle as they please. Similarly, the numerous frescoes and graffiti present along the route are superb “copies,” yet more “current” than those visible on the site or in museums because, like everything else here, they have not suffered the ravages of the eruption and the time spent under the ash.

Here, time has not yet done its work… but you must hurry; the rumbling and tremors are becoming increasingly frequent and violent.