Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823-1896) brought new innovations and scientific methodologies to archaeology. Born in Naples, he first served in Pompeii starting in 1846. He was accused of having nationalist political views, thrown into prison in 1849 and subsequently acquitted of the charges. During his ten-month incarceration he compiled and transcribed the handwritten official Pompeii excavation reports that had been recorded between 1748 and 1860 into a three-volume printed publication, Pompeianarum Antiquitatum Historia. Under a new unified Italian government, he was appointed Director of Archeological Works in Pompeii in 1860, and concurrently, of the Naples National Archaeological Museum in 1863. Fiorelli established an archaeological training school and pioneered stratigraphic excavation techniques. He also developed the methodology of making plaster casts of the cavities created by the decomposition of ancient corpses and organic artifacts, and he introduced the system of numerically organizing Pompeii properties by region and city block. Fiorelli was appointed Director General of Italian Antiquities and Fine Arts in Rome in 1875 where he served until his death in 1896. (Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei and Dobbins and Foss and Dobbins, The World of Pompeii, 2007, Chapter 39)
The Excavation History of via dell’Abbondanza - 1850 to 1899
At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, control of Lombardy and Venice passed to Austria. The rest of the Italian peninsula was made up of the Papal States (including Umbria and Lazio) and nation states such as the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Between 1820 and 1860 a number of unsuccessful revolts took place attempting to combine these diverse territories into a unified Italy.
Francis II succeeded his father Ferdinand II as the King of Two Sicilies in 1859. Invasions lead by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia brought his reign to an end. The Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies were merged into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
After this political unification, work continued in Pompeii, but with additional resources. Also, the primary focus of the excavations altered from collecting unique works of art for the royal household to more systematic investigation and study. One of the leaders of this archaeological transition was Giuseppe Fiorelli who developed stratigraphic excavation techniques and innovative conservation and restoration methods. Explorations under the direction of Fiorelli and his successors progressed in the elite houses and other structures in the north, the terraced houses in the south, along the city walls and in suburban areas. The last half of the nineteenth century saw an important transition in Pompeii from exploitation to examination and analysis.
The Directors of the Pompeii excavations and museums during this period were[1]:
- 1839 to 1850 - Francesco Maria Avellino, Superintendent of the Museum and Director of Archeological Works
- 1849 to 1851 - Giuseppe Settembre, architect and Director of Archeological Works
- 1850 to 1863 - Sangiorgio Spinelli, Superintendent of the Museum
- 1851 to 1852 - Guglielmo Bechi, architect and Director of Archeological Works
- 1852 to 1860 - Gaetano Genovese, architect and Director of Archeological Works
- 1860 to 1863 - Alexandre Dumas, Superintendent of the Museum and Director of Archeological Works
- 1860 to 1875 - Giuseppe Fiorelli, Director of Archeological Works
- 1863 to 1875 - Giuseppe Fiorelli, Curator of the National Archeological Museum in Naples
- 1875 to 1893 - Michele Ruggero, Director of Archeological Works
- 1893 to 1901 - Giulio de Petra, Director of Archeological Works
The following documents have been located that indicate the chronology of the excavation of via dell’Abbondanza during this period:
1855 - Map of Pompeii showing the excavations through 1855
By: Ernest Breton (1812-1875)
Source: Printed book - Pompeia décrite et dessinée
Publication Date: 1855
Location: Perry-Castañeda Library at The University of Texas at Austin
Copyright: Expired
This map indicates that by 1855 most of Regio VI in the north had been excavated, the total length of via Nola had been uncovered and via Stabiana had been cleared from the Stabian Gate to via Nola. The intersection of via Stabiana and via dell’Abbondanza had been located and excavated, as well as about 80 meters of via dell’Abbondanza to the west of the intersection, and a short length of the street to the east.
Via Stabiana is shown with the following names – “Rue du Quadrivio della Fortuna [Street of the Crossroads of Fortune] or Rue de l’Odeon (Street of the Theater]”
Via dell’Abbondanza is shown with the following names – “Rue des Orfèvres [Street of the Goldsmiths] or Rue de la Fontaine d’Abondance [Street of the Fountain of Abundance]”
1855 - Engraving of the Forum and Building of Eumachia
By: Ernest Breton (1812-1875)
Source: Printed book - Pompeia décrite et dessinée
Publication Date: 1855
Location: Perry-Castañeda Library at The University of Texas at Austin
Copyright: Expired
The engraving of the forum was drawn looking north from a position on what is now named via delle Scuole, and shows the south side of the Building of Eumachia along via dell’Abbondanza.
1855 - Engraving of the Building of Eumachia
By: Ernest Breton (1812-1875)
Source: Printed book - Pompeia décrite et dessinée
Publication Date: 1855
Location: Perry-Castañeda Library at The University of Texas at Austin
Copyright: Expired
This engraving is a detail of several of the sections of the south wall of the Building of Eumachia. Not only are the relief plaster decorations shown, but also dipinti left by ancient Pompeian painters.
By: Johannes Adolf Overbeck (1826-1895)
Source: Printed book - Pompeji in seinen Gebäuden, Alterthümern und Kunstwerken für Kunst- und Alterthumsfreunde
Publication Date: 1856
Location: Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston
Copyright: Expired
This map shows the areas that had been excavated up to the date of its publication. As via Stabiana is shown as not being completely cleared, it was probably drawn earlier than the map produced by Ernest Breton even though it was published a year later. Interestingly, the Praedia of Julia Felix is drawn as having been cleared (west of the “Forum Boarium” on the map). This property was originally excavated in the 1750’s, and then reburied. It was not again excavated until the twentieth century and would probably not have been visible in the nineteenth century.
1861 - Map of Pompeii showing the excavations through 1861
By: Stanislas D’Aloe
Source: Printed book - Les ruines de Pompéi jusqu'en 1861
Publication Date: 1861 (map dated 1861)
Location: Library of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei
Copyright: Expired
This map shows the areas that had been excavated up to 1861 as well as a plan of the Domus Pansae. North is to the bottom of the sheet. The areas between the Building of Eumachia and via Stabiana to the north of via dell’Abbondanza have been cleared, including the Stabian Baths. The Praedia of Julia Felix is shown (west of the “Forum Boarium” on the map) with a note that it was “recouverte” (reburied).
Via dell’Abbondanza is shown with the name Rue des Holconius.
By: Thomas H. Dyer (1804-1888)
Source: Printed book - Pompeii: its history, buildings, and antiquities
Publication Date: 1867
Location: Ball State University Library, Muncie, Indiana
Copyright: Expired
This plan of the forum is similar to others published during this period, except that hypothetical reconstruction elevation drawings of the east and west facades are included.
Via dell’Abbondanza is shown with the name Street of Abundance.
1867 - Engraving of the House of Holconius
By: Thomas H. Dyer (1804-1888)
Source: Printed book – Pompeii: its history, buildings, and antiquities
Publication Date: 1867
Location: Ball State University Library, Muncie, Indiana
Copyright: Expired
This engraving shows the interior of the House of Holconius (VIII, 4, 4) on the south side of via dell’Abbondanza that must have been excavated prior to the 1867 publication date of the book.
1872 - Map of Pompeii showing the excavations through 1872
By: Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823-1896)
Source: Printed book - Gli scavi di Pompei dal 1861 al 1872
Publication Date: 1873 (map dated 1872)
Location: Library of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei
Copyright: Expired
This map shows the areas that had been excavated up to 1872 and Fiorelli’s “regio and insula” address numbering system. Exploration on via dell’Abbondanza had progressed to the east of the intersection with via Stabiana. Strangely, the excavations along via Nola are not indicated.
1873 - Color plate of a wall on via dell’Abbondanza
By: Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823-1896)
Source: Printed book - Gli scavi di Pompei dal 1861 al 1872
Publication Date: 1873
Location: Library of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei
Copyright: Expired
This publication has twenty artwork plates in the back of the book. Most of the plates show maps of Pompeii or plans of individual insula. Six of the plates have detailed color illustrations (probably watercolors) of elevations of buildings and walls in Pompeii. The location of the elevations and comprehensive measurements can be found in the text of the book between pages 79 and 82. Wall 2 on Plate XVII is described as being in Insula VII, 14. The wall, located in 2008 on via dell’Abbondanza between door entrances two and three, can be seen in the adjacent photograph. These plates are the first visual depictions of structures in Pompeii that have been found that were printed in color.
1873 - Lithograph of excavations in Pompeii
By: Lithograph by J.G. Bach in a book by Johannes Adolf Overbeck (1826-1895) and August Mau (1849-1909)
Source: Printed book - Pompeji in seinen gebäuden, alterthümern und kunstwerken
Publication Date: 1884 (Illustration dated May 1873)
Location: Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston
Copyright: Expired
The title of this illustration is “An overview of the Excavations in Pompeii in May 1873”. The building that is being uncovered in the foreground with the four columns is the Casa dell’Atrio tetrastilo located in Regio I, Insula 2, Doorway 28. L. Eschebach indicates that this house was excavated in 1873, which agrees with the date on the illustration. The drawing or photograph from which the lithograph was made was probably created at a location in the vicinity of the Stabian Gate looking north.
The building in the far background with the circular window at the roof level is now named the Casina dell’Aquila. It was constructed in the eighteenth century and still sits on the unexcavated volcanic material above Regio IX, Insula 7. It now overlooks via dell’Abbondanza below, which was not excavated at that location until the twentieth century.
1875 - Engraving of the crossroad of via dell’Abbondanza and via Stabiana
By: Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823-1896)
Source: Printed book - Descrizione di Pompei
Publication Date: 1875
Location: Perry-Castañeda Library at The University of Texas at Austin
Copyright: Expired
This illustration can be found in the book at the beginning of the section entitled “Regione Nona”. The drawing for this engraving was made from a location on via Stabiana looking north through the crossroad with via dell’Abbondanza. A photograph taken in 2006 from the same location is shown next to the engraving on the linked enlargement page.
By: Felice Padiglione for Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823-1896)
Source: 1:100 scale model of the Pompeii excavations through 1879
Location: The National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Copyright: Permission to take and display the photograph of the original model that resides in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples has been granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali – Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.
The model was created at the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli and executed by Felice Padiglione between 1861 and 1879. During this era, numerous cork models were made of historical structures for the benefit of museum visitors. The cork was shaped and textured or covered with plaster to resemble the construction methods and materials of the actual buildings. Wall paintings and floor mosaics were precisely reproduced at scale. At a time when photography was not widely available, this unique recording method successfully presented realistic views of the structures and preserved information that has since disappeared.
The photograph of the model shows the sections of via dell’Abbondanza that had been excavated through 1879. The street starts at the forum, crosses via Stabiana and terminates at the east end of Insula I, 4.
1882 - Map of Pompeii showing the excavations through 1882
By: Lithograph by J.G. Bach in a book by Johannes Adolf Overbeck (1826-1895) and August Mau (1849-1909)
Source: Printed book - Pompeji in seinen gebäuden, alterthümern und kunstwerken
Publication Date: 1884 (Map dated May 1873)
Location: Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston
Copyright: Expired
This map is similar to that published by Fiorelli in 1873. It does however reflect that additional areas in Regio V, Regio VI and Regio IX have been cleared. Most of the insulae on the southern end of via Stabiana are also shown as having been excavated. No further work had been accomplished on via dell’Abbondanza.
1895 - Photograph of Pompeii and via dell’Abbondanza
By: Carlo Brogi (1850-1925)
Source: Original photograph (albumen print)
Publication Date: ca. 1895
Location: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan (KM1961.07.702)
Copyright: Copyright on the original commercial photograph has expired. However, the digital image of this photograph was scanned and provided by the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology owns the copyright on this digital image and kindly granted permission for its publication. This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.
The caption under this photograph reads 10216. POMPEI – Panorama colla Strada dell’Abbondanza. It was taken by Carlo Brogi, a commercial photographer from Florence. The number 10216 is a catalogue sequence that indicates a date of about 1895. The photograph was taken from a location that overlooks Insula I, 4 in the foreground and via Stabiana, which runs horizontally across the center of the image. Via dell’Abbondanza can be seen in the background climbing from the Stabian Baths (on the right side of the street) to the forum.
1899 - Map of the excavated portions of Pompeii
By: August Mau (1849-1909) translated by Francis W. Kelsey (1858-1927)
Source: Printed book - Pompeii, its life and art
Publication Date: 1899
Location: Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston
Copyright: Expired
This map shows the additional excavations that were undertaken in Pompeii since those shown on the 1882 Overbeck/Mau map. Most activity was along via Nola in the north of the city. No further work was accomplished on via dell’Abbondanza.
Via dell’Abbondanza is shown with the name Strada dell’Abbondanza between the forum and via Stabiana, and Strada dei Diadumeni to the east of via Stabiana. The House of Epidius Rufus excavated in this insula (IX, 1, 20) was also known as Casa dei Diadumeni.
1899 - Reconstruction drawing of the House of Epidius Rufus
By: August Mau (1849-1909) translated by Francis W Kelsey (1858-1927)
Source: Printed book - Pompeii, its life and art
Publication Date: 1899
Location: Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston
Copyright: Expired
This is a hypothetical reconstruction drawing of the facade of the House of Epidius Rufus (IX, 1, 20) on the north side of via dell’Abbondanza, as it may have appeared before AD 79. The building’s unusual elevated front “porch” with stairs at each end can be seen.