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Above The spectacular House of the Bicentenary is located along the Decumanus Maximus, or Main Street, of ancient Herculaneum, in the close vicinity of the busy heart of the Roman town.
Grand Designs at Heraculaneum
One of the most lavish dwellings in Roman Herculaneum, the House of the Bicentenary reopened to the public in 2019 after decades of conservation efforts. Francesco Sirano, Director of the Parco Archeologico di Ercolano, and Leslie Rainer from the Getty Conservation Institute tell the story of this magnificent house, its discovery, its decline, and how it has been brought to life once more.
Visitors stepping through the open doors of the House of the Bicentenary in 1938, to great celebration, were part of a 200-year-old tradition of exploring Herculaneum that started with the ancient city’s official rediscovery in 1738. Similarly, those who walk around the newly reopened Roman townhouse today can gain insights into its discovery, excavation, and conservation.
Standing atop Vesuvius in the present day, looking out over the Bay of Naples, the archaeological site is just visible at the foot of the mountain. It is easy to see that Herculaneum lies directly in the path of any eruption flowing down the volcano’s slopes to the sea. This is exactly what happened in AD 79, with w
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