A blog for all those who work on Pompeii and the other archaeological sites of the Bay of Naples.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Epitaffio di Portici
An important monument often overlooked in the recent spate of articles on Vesuvius and the danger it poses to the millions that live in its vicinity is the "Epitaffio di Portici", composed in 1631 and placed as a warning to the inhabitants of the region. In an effort to raise public awareness and record (and illustrate) this interesting text, I have created a web page at: https://sites.google.com/a/kenyon.edu/portici-epitaffio. As you will note, the Lions' Club has also become involved!
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Another important monument, also overlooked, is the "Epitaffio" at the Villa Faraone Mennella in Torre del Greco:
http://www.ilya.it/chrono/images/gallery/pom01.jpg
http://www.ilya.it/chrono/images/gallery/pom36.jpg
The text there is even more interesting!
AT O
VIII ET LX POST ANNO XVII CALEND (AS) IANUARII
PHILIPPO IV REGE
FUMO, FLAMMIS, BOATU
CONCUSSO CINERE ERUPTIOHE
HORRIFICUS, FERUS SI UNQUAM VESUVIUS
NEC NOMEN NEC FASCES TANTI VIRI EXTIMUIT QUIPPE, EXARDESCENTE CAVIS SPECUBUS IGNE, IGNITUS, FURENS, IRRUGIENS,
EXITUM ELUCTANS. COERCITUS AER, IACULATUS TRANS HELLESPONTUMDISIECTO VIOLENTER MONTIS CULMINE,
IMMANI ERUPIT HIATU POSTRIDIE,
CINEREM
PONE TRAHENS AD EXPLENDAM VICEM PELAGUS IMMITE PELAGUS
FLUVIOS SULPHUREOS FLAMMATUM BITUMEN,
FOETAS ALUMINE CAUTES,
INFORME CUIUSQUE METALLI RUDUS,
MIXTUM AQUARUM VOIURINIBUS IGNEM
FEBRVEM (QUE) UNDANTE FUMO CINEREM
SESEQ (UE) FUNESTAMQ (UE) COLLLUVIEM
IUGO MONTIS EXONERANS
POMPEIOS HERCULANEUM OCTAVIANUM, PERSTRICTIS REАTINA ET PORTICU,
SILVASQ (UE), VILLASQ (UE), (UE)
MOMENTO STRAVIT, USSIT, DIRUIT
LUCTUOSAM PRAEA SE PRAEDAM AGENS
VASTUMQ (UE) TRIUNPHUM.
PERIERAT HOC QUOQ (UE) MARMOR ALTE SEPQLUM CONSULTISSIMI NO MONUMENTUM PROREGIS.
NE PEREAT
EMMAHUEZL FONSECA ET SUNICA COM (ES),
MONT IS RE (GIS) PROR (EX),
QUA ANIMI MAGNITUDINE PUBLICAE CALAMITATI EA PRIVATAE CONSULUIT
EXTRACTUM FUNDITUS GENTIS SUI LAPIDEM.
COELO RESTITUIT, VIAM RESTAURAVIT,
FUMANTE ADHUC ET INDIGNANTE VESEVO.
AN (NO) SAL (UTIS) MDCXXXV,
PRAEFECTO VIARUM
ANTONIO SUARES MESSIA MARCHI (ONE) VICI.
I'm puzzled by the first two lines (at least) of this marvelous Torre del Greco "epitaffio." Can anyone explain them? Thanks Andreas for making this all the more mysterious!
POSTERI POSTERI : PAZIENZA PAZIENZA
The excellent monograph/article/file of Aniello Langella and Armando Polito, "L'Eruzione del Vesuvio del 1631, letto attraverso le EPIGRAFI di Torre del Greco e di Portici" (epitaffio_1o_def.pdf via www.vesuvioweb.com) translates the first line of the Torre inscription as "Ma Ahime[!]," noting that it continues the earlier inscription, referring to the road constructed in 1562: mystery solved!
Unfortunatelly, the excellent monograph of Aniello Langella and Armando Polito doesn't explain the 23rd line of this inscription where the list of damaged cities, along with the quite prosperous Resina (Ercolano) and Portici contains POMPEII and HERCULANEUM, the cities that supposedly
had disappeared almost two thousand years ago!!
However, it has been done by another author.
In his book De incendio Vesuvii excitato XVLJ. Kal. Ianuar anno trigesimo saeculi
decimo septimi, Neapoli, 1633, the author Mascolo, an eyewitness of the eruption, wrote
this:
"...Everything on the way was swept away by this storm and the fire whirl. Stocks and
flocks were drawn and scattered around, fields, woods, huts, houses, towers were
destroyed and thrown about. Two of these fire flows were very quick, one of them
vigorously ran down to Herculaneum, the other one ran to Pompeii (the cities once
recovered from the ashes, I do not know if they will be alive again)... And about
Herculaneum and Pompeii (this is how I call both the ancient city and the one next to it)
I will tell you a little bit later."
and then explains:
"What to tell about Pompeii?... Now, on the contrary, it was not only horrified by the
roaring bicorn Vesuvius but was buried without a splendid burial procession under the
ashes, and there is probably not [even one] eyewitness of this misery left from the city
of Annunciate, as its called now. And such a great disaster did not happen during Nero
when [the city] was damaged by an earthquake and when during a theatrical
performance a casual argument between Nucerians and Pompeians became the reason
for a bloody wrangle, first with stones and then with knives. And now the Pompeii itself
looks really miserable..."
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