Faux Your Information: florapompeiiThe act of painting walls precedes even architecture. As a fundamental human experience it reveals a natural human response to our environment. From the Paleolithic cave paintings through the evolution of the decorative arts; we have adorned our walls with colors and pattern, flora and fauna. Decorative…

Roman wall painting from Pompeii 100 AD.

Read our synopsis of one of the most significant paintings in the history of art, and witness it for yourself on your visit to St Petersburg.

Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples, in the Campaniaregion of Italy, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption

August 24, A.D. 79, started like any other day in Pompeii, but nearby Mount Vesuvius had an awful surprise waiting for the townspeople. Soon, the entire town would be buried in ash and pumice, remaining that way for nearly 2,000 years. Read more here!

The Brothel of Pompeii: Sex, Class, and Gender at the Margins of Roman Society by Sarah Levin-Richardson lays bare the largest of Pompeii's legalised Lupanars.

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The minor Roman deity Priapus was cursed with outsized genitalia, but a fresco of him at Pompeii may shed light on a more widespread problem among Roman men.