Discovery in Pompeii of exceptional monumental frescoes representing the procession of Bacchus

A large "very rare" cycle of monumental frescoes depicting the procession of Bacchus, the god of wine, has been discovered in a banqueting hall in Pompeii, the famous archaeological site near Naples announced on Wednesday, February 26. " This is an extraordinary historical document," said Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, quoted in the statement, hailing "an important moment for Italian and world archaeology."

This megalography (monumental painting), comparable to that of the Villa of the Mysteries, extends over the three walls of a banqueting hall that opened onto a garden. The frescoes, dating from the years 40-30 BC, show dancing bacchantes, hunters carrying a slaughtered kid or a sword, as well as young satyrs with pointed ears playing the flute or making libations, a ritual associated with wine.

In the center of the scene, a female figure sits enthroned next to an old man carrying a torch. This scene depicts a young mortal woman participating in a nocturnal ritual to be initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus, the Greek name for Bacchus. All the figures are represented on pedestals, as if they were statues, adding to the grandeur of the scene.

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pompeii, the second most visited tourist site in Italy after the Colosseum (4.17 million visitors in 2024), covers an area of ​​approximately 22 hectares, a third of which is still buried under ash. The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD helped to preserve many of the city's buildings, almost in their original state, while drawing sinister shapes around the bodies of the victims of the disaster.