Massimo Osanna recently led the most extensive excavations at Pompeii since the Second World War. The archaeological park’s Director, he is also the curator of an exhibition at the Grand Palais, which was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak but can be partly seen online.
Professor Massimo Osanna, director general of the Pompeii archaeological park, in front of an electoral inscription from the first century CE.
Pompeii, Regio V © GEDEON Programme
In the 2010s, before the decision was taken to carry out the excavations, Pompeii had suffered multiple collapses, sending a wave of emotion around the world. And yet you like to say that this dramatic episode was an opportunity for the ancient city. Why? The collapses alerted the Italian government and the international community to the site’s state of degradation and the urgent need to save it. This led to the "Great Pompeii Project". Initiated in 2014, it has been allocated a €105-million budget, 75% of which comes from European funds.
What was the project’s aim? It was an "extraordinary" intervention. Until then, only occasional restorations of houses had been undertaken. But restoration is not possible without shoring up the existing archaeological structures first. In Pompeii, the collapses…
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