Vesuvian Lost Cities

The Vesuvian Lost Cities before the "Discovery". Sources Experience, Imagery in Early Modern Period.
The VeLoCi research project aims to achieve three objectives: to narratively innovate the state of the art by exploring the symbolic and material dimension of the process of knowledge of the past, of ruins and of cities abandoned after natural disasters, a phenomenon that strongly characterizes the Italian peninsula and in particular its southern regions; to experiment methodologically, retracing a "denied" history through sources to reconstruct the identity of a "lost" landscape; to contribute to the dissemination of a story that will not only have positive repercussions in the academic community, but can also bring benefits to society and public institutions by laying the foundations for more complex conservation strategies aimed at the protection and management of a broad cultural heritage, so as to enhance the identity of these places and promote social inclusion.

Focus 1

The research project aims to explore the process of understanding the cities that disappeared following the eruption of Vesuvius, namely Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabia, before the start of the official archaeological excavations, which began in 1738, following which the "discovery" of the ancient cities took place.

Focus 2

The research focuses on the modern age and will examine various sources: inscriptions and epigraphs, topographical and cartographic texts, iconographic and cartographic evidence, literary sources, archaeological and architectural remains, archival documents.

Focus 3

VeLoCi aims to insert the story of the cities located in the Vesuvian area into the broader framework of the history of antiquities, implementing critical and interpretative relationships with other similar case studies.
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VeLoCi database coming soon!

Wed, Jul 31, 24 News
In the past few weeks, the VeLoCi team has been working on final changes to the layout of the open-access database accessible from the website on Early modern sources related to "lost cities."

Discovering Vesuvius with the colleagues of the Storia e Clima research seminar

Fri, Jun 14, 24 News
The VeLoCi research group joins the activities planned as part of the 17th International Storia e Clima Seminar “La percezione del rischio e della catastrofe nei secoli XVI-XVIII: testimonianze, suppliche, racconti, diari, discorsi”, held in Naples between 12 and 14 June.

VeLoCi's on-site inspections continuing: from Boscoreale to Torre Annunziata

Wed, Jun 05, 24 News
After exploring the area of ancient Stabiae, the VeLoCi team moved on to Boscoreale and Torre Annunziata to get an overview of the settlements that had originated in what was once the suburban area of Pompeii, marked by sumptuous villas of leisure and many villae rusticae used for farming.

Starting the VeLoCi team's explorations on the sites of the lost cities

Mon, May 20, 24 News
The VeLoCi project team started the inspections of the cities covered by the research. The first stop has been Castellammare di Stabia, which includes the remains of the ancient Roman Stabiae.

First explorations at the Archivio di Stato di Napoli

Tue, Mar 26, 24 News
Both units of the VeLoCi project are now beginning the work of identifying and collecting early modern data on the 'buried cities'.

Kick-off day di VeLoCi

Mon, Nov 06, 23 News
On 17 October 2023, PRIN 2022 VeLoCi was officially launched, a research project that we will develop over the next two years, with the funds from the European program Next Generation EU.

Early Modern Rome 5

Saturday, November 09, 2024 Events
The VeLoCi team participates in the international conference Early Modern Rome 5 , which will be held in Rome and Bracciano from November 14 to 16, 2024.

Esperienza della scoperta e memoria dei disastri. Strumenti, fonti, metodologie

Monday, November 04, 2024 Events
On 22 November 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., will be held in Rome the second dissemination activity of the project PRIN 2022 VeLoCi - The Vesuvian Lost Cities before the ‘Discovery’. Sources, Experience, Imagery in Early Modern Period.