Stabiae: Difference between revisions

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox ancient site
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'''Stabiae''' ({{IPA-la|ˈstabɪ.ae̯|lang}}) was an ancient city situated near the modern town of [[Castellammare di Stabia]] and approximately 4.5&nbsp;km southwest of [[Pompeii]]. Like Pompeii, and being only {{cvt|16|km|mi}} from [[Mount Vesuvius]], this [[seaside resort]]it was largely buried by [[tephra]] ash in 79 AD [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD|eruption of Mount Vesuvius]], in this case at a shallower depth of up to 5 m.<ref>Giovanna Bonifacio; Anna Maria Sodo, Gina Carla Ascione, In Stabiano – Cultura e archeologia da Stabiae , Castellammare di Stabia, Longobardi Editore, 2006. {{ISBN|88-8090-126-5}} p. 117-118</ref>
 
Stabiae is most famous for the Roman villas found near the ancient city which are regarded as some of the most stunning architectural and artistic remains from any Roman villas.<ref>Stabiae: Master Plan 2006, the Archaeological Superintendancy of Pompeii, School of Architecture of the University of Maryland, The Committee of Stabiae Reborn</ref> They are the largest concentration of excellently preserved, enormous, elite seaside villas known in the Roman world. The villas were sited on a 50&nbsp;m high headland overlooking the [[Gulf of Naples]].<ref>[http://www.sdmart.org/exhibition-stabiano.html San Diego Museum of Art exhibition on Stabiae] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210095848/http://www.sdmart.org/exhibition-stabiano.html |date=10 February 2006 }}</ref><ref name="restoring">[http://www.stabiae.org/foundation/en/ Restoring Stabiae website]</ref> Although it was discovered before Pompeii in 1749, unlike Pompeii and [[Herculaneum]], Stabiae was reburied by 1782 and so failed to establish itself as a destination for travellers on the [[Grand Tour]].
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[[File:Antica porta di Stabiae.jpg|thumb|250px|City gate of Stabiae]]
 
The settlement at Stabiae arose from as early as the 7th century BC due to the favourable climate and its strategic and commercial significance as evocatively documented by materials found in the vast [[necropolis]] discovered in 1957 on via Madonna delle Grazie, situated between [[Gragnano]] and [[Santa Maria la Carità]]. The necropolis of over 300 tombs containing imported pottery of Corinthian, Etruscan, [[Chalcidians|Chalcidian]] and [[Attica|Attic]] origin clearly shows that the town had major commercial contacts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=%E2%80%9CIn+Search+of+Stabiae%E2%80%9D&idSezione=7766 |title=Homepage – Pompeii Sites Portale Ufficiale Parco Archeologico di Pompei |access-date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=17 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017163116/http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=%E2%80%9CIn+Search+of+Stabiae%E2%80%9D&idSezione=7766 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The necropolis, covering an area of {{cvt|15000|m2}}, was used from the 7th to the end of the 3rd century BC and shows the complex population changes with the arrival of new peoples, such as the [[Etruscans]], which opened up new contacts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=History+of+Stabiae&idSezione=3386 |title=Homepage – Pompeii Sites Portale Ufficiale Parco Archeologico di Pompei|date=9 March 2024 }}</ref>
 
Stabiae had a small [[port]] which by the 6th century BC had already been overshadowed by the much larger port at [[Pompeii]]. It later became an [[Oscan]] settlement<ref name="Senatore" /> and it appears that the [[Samnites]] later took over the Oscan town in the 5th century.<ref>
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{{main|Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD}}
 
In 62 AD the city was hit by a violent earthquake that affected the whole region, and causedcausing considerable damage to the buildings and neededcreating the need for restoration work, which was never finished.{{cn|date = January 2024}}
 
</ref>According to a letter written by [[Pliny the Younger|his nephew]],<ref>[http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/Pompeii/Destruction.html Account of Pliny's death, in Latin and English.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017114610/http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/Pompeii/Destruction.html|date=17 October 2006}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date = January 2023}} Pliny the Elder was at the other side of the bay in [[Misenum]] when the eruption of 79 AD started. He sailed by [[galley]] across the bay, partly to observe the eruption more closely, and partly to rescue people from the coast near the volcano.{{cn|date = January 2024}}
According to the account<ref>
[http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/Pompeii/Destruction.html Account of Pliny's death] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017114610/http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/Pompeii/Destruction.html|date=17 October 2006 }} (the famous letter by Pliny's nephew, Pliny the Younger, in Latin and English)
</ref> written by [[Pliny the Younger|his nephew]], Pliny the Elder was at the other side of the bay in [[Misenum]] when the eruption of 79 AD started. He sailed by [[galley]] across the bay, partly to observe the eruption more closely, and partly to rescue people from the coast near the volcano.
 
Pliny died at Stabiae the following day,. probablyThis duringcoincides with the arrival of the sixth and largest [[pyroclastic surge]] of the eruption caused by the collapse of the [[eruption plume]].<ref>
{{cite book |author1=Francis, Peter |author2=Oppenheimer, Clive| name-list-style=amp | year=2004 |title=Volcanoes |location = Oxford, England | publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0199254699}}{{page needed | date = January 2024}}</ref>{{full | date = January 2024}}{{verification needed | date = January 2024}} The very diluted outer edge of this surge reached Stabiae and left two centimetres of fine ash on top of the immensely thick aerially-deposited ''[[tephra]]'' which further protected the underlying remains.{{cn | date = January 2024}}{{verification needed | date = January 2024}}
{{cite book |title=Volcanoes |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |author1=Francis, Peter |author2=Oppenheimer, Clive|name-list-style=amp |isbn=0-19-925469-9}}
</ref> The very diluted outer edge of this surge reached Stabiae and left two centimetres of fine ash on top of the immensely thick aerially-deposited ''[[tephra]]'' which further protected the underlying remains.
 
====Post-eruption====
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</ref> These ruins were partially excavated by Alcubierre with help from [[Karl Weber (archaeologist)|Karl Weber]] between 1749 and 1775.<ref name="Parslow"/> Weber was the first to make detailed architectural drawings and delivered them to the court of Naples. He proposed the systematic unearthing of the buildings and their display on site, in their context. In 1759 Weber partially identified and described part of the old city that extended over an area of about 45000 m<sup>2</sup>.<ref>Gardelli, Paolo. [https://actual-art.spbu.ru/en/publications/archive/vol-8/museum-collection-space-work-of-art/10691.html Stabiae and the Beginning of European Archaeology: From Looting to Science.] ''Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art'': Collection of articles. Vol. 8. Ed. S. V. Mal’tseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova, A. V. Zakharova. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Univ. Press, 2018, pp. 681–690.</ref> The ruins that had been excavated, however, were reburied.
 
A second excavation campaign until 1782 was assisted by the architect [[Pietro la Vega|Franceso La Vega]] after Weber's death. He diligently collected all the preceding material to reconstruct the history of the excavations. He introduced new concepts for the first time about context, emphasising direct observation of ancient buildings in their landscape or in their historical and archaeological complex. In seven years at Stabiae La Vega resumed excavations in some villas built on the plateau of Varanium<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opening Archaeological Museum of Castellammare di Stabia Libero D'Orsi |url=http://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/opening-archaeological-museum-of-castellammare-di-stabia-libero-dorsi/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Pompeii Sites |date=24 September 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref> already partially excavated, the Villa del Pastore, Villa Arianna and [http://pompeiisites.org/en/stabiae-en-2/second-complex/ Second Complex] and extended research to a large number of ''villae rusticae'' in the ''ager stabianus'' and made precise reports. However he could not persuade the court to keep excavated buildings exposed and avoid their backfilling, so excavation of Stabiae continued with the usual technique of digging and backfilling.<ref>Gardelli, Paolo. [https://actual-art.spbu.ru/en/publications/archive/vol-8/museum-collection-space-work-of-art/10691.html Stabiae and the Beginning of European Archaeology: From Looting to Science.] ''Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art'': Collection of articles. Vol. 8. Ed. S. V. Mal’tseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova, A. V. Zakharova. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Univ. Press, 2018, pp. 686</ref> The location of Stabiae was again widely forgotten.
 
In 1950<ref name="restoring"/> when [[Libero D'Orsi]], an enthusiastic amateur, brought to light some rooms of Villa San Marco<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-31 |title=Villa San Marco |url=http://pompeiisites.org/en/stabiae-en-2/villa-san-marco/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Pompeii Sites |language=en-US}}</ref> and Villa Arianna<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-31 |title=Villa Arianna |url=http://pompeiisites.org/en/stabiae-en-2/villa-arianna/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Pompeii Sites |language=en-US}}</ref> with the help of the maps from the Bourbon excavations, and also Villa Petraro, a ''[[domus]]'' found by chance in 1957 (in the commune of Santa Maria la Carità) but then reburied after a few years of study.<ref>Libero D'Orsi, Antonio Carosella; Vincenzo Cuccurullo, The excavations of Stabiae: excavation newspaper, Rome, Quasar, 1996, {{ISBN|88-7140-104-2}}</ref> He also found parts of a residential area of the city about 300 m from Villa San Marco including remains of houses, shops, parts of the ''[[macellum]]''<ref>Arnold De Vos; Mariette De Vos, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia, Rome, Editori Laterza, 1982. p. 323</ref> to which roads from the port converged.<ref>Giuseppe Di Massa, the territory of Gragnano in antiquity and the ager stabianus, pp. 1–48. http://www.centroculturalegragnano.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Il-Territorio-di-Gragnano-nell%E2%80%99antichit%C3%A0-e-l%E2%80%99Ager-Stabianus.pdf</ref> These remains were again reburied. News of the finds quickly attracted important visitors and nobility from all over Europe. Some of the most important frescoes were detached to allow better conservation and almost 9000 finds collected were housed locally. His work finally stopped in 1962 following lack of funds.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=Storia+degli+scavi&idSezione=259 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022034654/http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=Storia+degli+scavi&idSezione=259 |archive-date=22 October 2013 |title=Homepage – Pompeii Sites Portale Ufficiale Parco Archeologico di Pompei}}</ref>
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The baths of the villa are of considerable size on a triangular plot. The remains of the frescoes show they were finely decorated with depictions of large pendulous branches. Access to the baths is via an [[Atrium (architecture)|''atrium'']], painted with wrestlers and boxers, followed by ''[[apodyterium]], [[tepidarium]], [[frigidarium]], [[palaestra]]'' and ''[[caldarium]]'': the pool in the ''caldarium'', accessible by stone steps, is 7x5m and 1.5m deep. In excavations in the pool, part of the bottom was removed exposing a large brick furnace heating a large bronze boiler which was removed in 1798 by Lord Hamilton to be transported to London, but during the trip the Colossus was shipwrecked. The ''caldarium'' was covered with marble slabs. From the baths there are a number of ramps connecting the villa with the shore.
 
====Art from Villa San Marco====
 
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Fresco of woman with tray in Villa San Marco retouched.jpg|Fresco of woman with tray in Villa San Marco
File:Fresco of angel in Villa San Marco of Stabiae.jpg|Fresco of winged figure in Villa San Marco
File:Stabiae Villa Di San Marco Affresco Albero.jpg|Fresco of a tree in Villa San Marco
File:Perseus Medusa villa san Marco Stabiae Italy.jpg|[[Perseus]] with head of [[Medusa]] in villa San Marco
File:Planisfero 1.jpg|Fresco detail of a [[planisphere]], from villa San Marco (seen at Antiquarium)
File:Skyphoi in ossidiana con incastonature, da villa s. marco a castellammare, I sec dc. 03.JPG|[[Skyphos]] in obsidian with incastonatura (Naples Museum)
</gallery>
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* [http://www.stabiae.org/foundation/ Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation site]
* [https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/stabiae Stabiae – Comprehensive site on the eruption of 79&nbsp;AD] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127100907/https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/stabiae |date=27 January 2022 }}
* [http://www.auav46.dsl.pipex.com/p125.htm Herculaneum/Pompeii/Stabiae Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216125711/http://www.auav46.dsl.pipex.com/p125.htm |date=16 December 2008 }}
* [http://www.webvisionitaly.com/category.php?id=77 Video Villa San Marco]
* [http://creadm.solent.ac.uk/custom/rwpainting/cover/index.html Romano-Campanian Wall-Painting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307134958/http://creadm.solent.ac.uk/custom/rwpainting/cover/index.html |date=7 March 2011 }}
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[[Category:Roman sites of Campania]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Italy]]
[[Category:Destroyed citiespopulated places]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Italy]]
[[Category:National museums of Italy]]
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[[Category:Tourist attractions in Campania]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 1st century]]
[[Category:Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD]]