The article is inspired by a visit that Johann Joachim Winckelmann made to the excavations of Stabia in 1762 and tries to reconstruct in detail the phases of the fi rst Bourbon explorations on the Varano plateau. From the fi rst surveys carried out by Alcubierre to the earthworks carried out by Weber under the direction of Paderni, an attempt was made to highlight the context in which some methodological choices used in Stabia matured, which were often the result of a heated and bitter battle between the main actors of the archaeological adventure financed by King Charles. By studying the documents of the time and the extensive reference bibliography, the contribution highlights how this real power struggle over who was to conduct the excavations also affected the judgment that Winckelmann gave on the entire Vesuvian archaeological story. In fact, the analysis of this further case study seems to confi rm the idea that Winckelmann had a certain skill in weaving relationships with the main personalities involved in the excavations of the cities destroyed by the eruption of 79 AD; bonds that he often used in a utilitarian way to obtain confi dential information but which also led him to commit errors of evaluation.
Parole chiave: Stabiae, Winckelmann, Scavi borbonici, Alcubierre, Weber, Paderni.
