The Swiss Institute is pleased to host the annual conference of the Unione Internazionale degli Istituti di Archeologia, Storia e Storia dell’Arte in Rome. This year’s topic, Iphigenia in Pompeii, with the participation of Professor Francesca Ghedini, is proposed by the Institutum Romanum Finlandiae.
The International Union brings together thirty-eight research institutes, both Italian and non-Italian, from nineteen different European and non-European countries, all working in the specified subject areas.
Iphigenia in Pompeii. New frescoes from the House of the Painters at work
During recent excavations at the insula dei Casti Amanti in Pompeii (R IX), a small, richly decorated room was found in an excellent state of preservation. The three panels depict Perseus and Andromeda, in the iconography of the contemplation of Medusa’s head, a child surrounded by bunches of grapes and pomegranates, and a scene depicting Iphigenia purifying Orestes in an original iconographic composition that enriches the panorama of images inspired by the unfortunate daughter of Agamemnon. The iconographic/iconological analysis of the decoration allows us to hypothesise the existence of a specific decorative programme desired by the owner of the house.
In co-operation with the Institutum Romanum Finlandiae and the Unione Internazionale.
Francesca Ghedini is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the University of Padua.
The conference will be held at the Istituto Svizzero in Rome in Italian.