Positano! A long drive today to see something special. In 2003, archaeologists found the roof of a Roman villa under the church’s crypt. Over the next 10 years they excavated a villa buried by the 79AD Vesuvius eruption. A beautiful little musuem is now open & well worth a visit.

Unlike the hot flows at Herculaneum & Pompeii, the ash that arrived at Positano was cooled and mixed with the river’s fresh water. We therefore see different site formation processes to those other sites. It buried the villa to its roof level, preserving the rich color of frescos

The roof is collapsed and there is a huge crack in the wall, as the flow sliding down the mountain displaced the upper half of the structure (center frame on the first photograph).

This room is painted in the Fourth Style (a wall typology from Pompeii) which developed under Nero and was the latest type in 79AD. What is particularly interesting is the 3D plaster moulding of figures on top of the frescoes. The 3D is really pronounced when viewing in person.

All the organic elements are gone, but like Pompeii there are impressions that they left behind in the hardened ash. The door is incredible, and they also found the impression of a basket (photo 2) and decorated furniture (3). The floor is a rather plain mosaic.

The room is a banquet hall with furniture & serving items. It was situated on the ancient coastline with a peristyle toward the sea (on the right side). Indications are it was a large villa, but mostly located under the modern city. A excavation is ongoing under a nearby piazza.

Other finds include a saw (for the nautical archaeologists out there), a lamp with a green glaze that might be a local Amalfi type (it depicts Medusa), and iron elements of a wooden chest. The excavation was directed by Luciana Jacobelli and the Soprintendenza di Salerno.

Fin.

Visit Positano.