POMPEI SITE - ART AND CULTURE

News: Archaeologists find 2,000-year-old painting of 'pizza' in ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii

 

What's in the news?

        A 2,000 year old fresco depicting what might be an ancient ancestor of the Italian pizza has been found in the ruins of the city of Pompeii.

       Experts say that the ancient fresco, which depicts a flat bread with assorted toppings on a tray with other food, could be a "distant relative" of modern-day pizza. There are a few key ingredients missing, however.

 

Pompeii Site:

       Pompeii was a Roman town in Southern Italy’s Campania region situated along the Bay of Naples.

       The town was completely buried by volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, over 2,000 years ago.

       Largely preserved under the ash, the excavated city offers a unique snapshot of Roman life, frozen at the moment it was buried, although much of the detailed evidence of the everyday life of its inhabitants was lost in the excavations.

 

Importance:

       Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors annually.