In the news this week ...

• A new museum, the ‘Museo pompeiano del Grand Tour’ will be opened next November on the second floor of the Palazzo de Fusco in modern Pompei. ‘Sarà un contenitore nel quale troveranno posto tutte le testimonianze culturali, dalla letteratura alla musica, dalla pittura alla scultura, alla poesia, alla fotografia e al cinema che dal 1860 a oggi hanno avuto Pompei sacra o archeologica quale tappa del percorso italiano di intellettuali, artisti, scrittori, politici, musicisti e religiosi.’ (Source) The museum is the combined initiative of the Università di Napoli Federico II, the Istituto Universitario Suor Orsola Benincasa and the città di Pompei.

• A Italian traveler was stopped at Florence airport and found to have ‘reperti archeologici’ from Herculaneum and Torre del Greco in her luggage – eight fragments of fresco from the Villa of the Papyri and Casa Sannitica at Herculaneum and the Villia Storia at Torre del Greco. She may face a fine of 5,000 Euro and 4 years in prison. (Source) More details to follow as and when they emerge …

• Guns (presumably disposed of by the Camorra) have been pulled from the river Sarno. (Source)

• Upcoming exhibitions in Campania:
  ‘Alla corte di Vanvitelli’ at the Palace of Caserta (Vanvitelli was the architect who designed the palace and many other buildings for the Bourbons), which starts tomorrow;
  ‘La pittura pompeiana’ at the Museo Nazionale Archeologico at Naples – basically the reopening of all the rooms with frescos (at last!!), which have been newly restored, which opens on 29th April.
  ‘Gemito’ at Villa Pignatelli (work of the sculptor Gemito active at Naples in the 19th century).