Latest news with #RomanMosaic
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Pompeii welcomes home erotic mosaic looted by Nazi officer
ROME, July 15 (Reuters) - An ancient Roman erotic mosaic depicting a half-naked couple has returned to Pompeii more than 80 years after it was stolen by a Nazi officer during World War Two, Italy's cultural heritage police said on Tuesday. The intimate artwork, featuring a man reclining in bed with his female partner standing in front of him, was handed back by Germany following a diplomatic effort, the police said in a statement. Set on a slab of travertine, the mosaic panel dates to between the late 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. It was taken from the area around Pompeii, near Naples, during the war by a German Nazi army captain assigned to military logistics in Italy. The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realizing its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the German-born director of the Pompeii archaeological park, described the mosaic as part of a cultural turning point where everyday intimacy became a subject in Roman art, as opposed to the heroic myths of earlier centuries. "Here we see a new theme, the routine of domestic love," he said, noting that the male figure's expression "seems almost a little bored". The mosaic will now be put on display at Pompeii alongside the hundreds of other items and archaeological remains at the site of the ancient city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rutland: Plans for sea dragon centrepiece at new-look museum
The UK's largest complete ichthyosaur skeleton could form a major part of plans to transform a County Council is set to discuss proposals to turn the Rutland County Museum into a cultural and civic work will begin if it is given the go-ahead and the authority hopes it will be able to acquire the famous sea dragon skeleton from Anglian Water and make it the centrepiece of the skeleton of the ichthyosaur - an ocean-going reptile from the time of the dinosaurs - was found at Rutland Water in 2021. In addition to the skeleton, a digital visitor experience of the county's rare Roman Mosaic, discovered alongside remnants of a Roman villa in 2020, would also be part of the leader Gale Waller said, if approved, the proposals would help boost tourism, support businesses and ensure the sustainability of "Rutland's priceless heritage assets". The cost of enhancing the museum would be covered by UK Government Funding, formerly known as Levelling Up Funding, worth £ would be spent on re-designing the building and Catmose Cottage site, where it is based in Oakham, as well as on interactive digital exhibits of the historic the council's cabinet will discuss taking ownership of the ichthyosaur fossil from Anglian Water, the authority said it would need to secure extra funding before putting it on display. Waller said the proposals would "see the magnificent Rutland Ichthyosaur brought to life alongside other valuable local treasures inside a much-improved museum building"."This has huge potential in terms of attracting more visitors to our area, supporting local businesses and ensuring the long-term sustainability of Rutland's priceless heritage assets," she said. The county council's cabinet will discuss the plans on Tuesday.
