From the reuse of the ancient fragments to the first experiments on the architectures in Pompei at the
end of 18th century
The rediscovery of Pompei and Ercolano occurred in a period in which the attitude towards past was
rapidly changing: theatres, temples, housings, discovered under a layer of ash and lapilli appeared as the
testimony of a dead past for which was not possible imagine a continuity of life and history in the present.
So the ancient buildings rediscovered in Pompei, were immediately recognized as “Monumenti Stabili”,
as they were called by La Vega, the architect who directed the excavations, and they were not more subject
to modifications and embellishments, according to the rules of the contemporary meaning of restoration.
Intended as a reconstruction of limitate parts of the building the restoration in Pompei at the end of
18th century had indeed the purpose of showing the real layout of ancient architectures in order to dispel
doubts on various misunderstood aspects of ancient teatrises and to show to tourists and visitors the
original
unity
of the monuments.
