Pliny

Most of the remains of ancient Casinum are contained within the archaeological park attached to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale G. Carettoni, with a couple exceptions. The first is the ancient theater, which is adjacent to the museum and archaeological area, but is separate and not currently accessible. The theater was likely built early in the reign of Augustus. An inscription attributes a renovation of the theater in the second half of the 1st century CE to Ummidia Quadratilla, whose father was responsible for the original construction of the theater. The theater is somewhat visible from the parking lot, it’s not a great view. Performances are supposedly conducted here in the summers, but it was quite overgrown and didn’t look like it had been used for those purposes in a while. Some remains of a Roman road are visible at points running south of the museum. (Rob@roamintheempire.com)

The mausoleum of Ummidia is unique, with a cella in opus quadratum, on a central plan with a cupola, a pronaos facing - with Italic Corinthian columns covered in stucco. (Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, Casinum)

The amphitheater was constructed in the latter half of the 1st century CE. An inscription records that it was constructed, along with a temple, by Ummidia Quadratilla (the very same patron of the theater) with her own money for the citizens of Casinum. The temple which is referred to in the inscription has not yet been found. The amphitheater was located outside the walls of the city, built abutting the slopes of Monte Cassino. The amphitheater is estimated to have had a capacity of about 4,500 spectators. (Rob@roamintheempire.com)

Dahl visited Vesuvius just before Christmas 1820 to witness its eruptions at close-hand. He immediately made an oil sketch (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen) that served as the basis for the present work, completed four years later for Prince Christian Frederik, later King Christian VIII of Denmark. Vesuvius had attracted artists and Grand Tourists alike since the rediscovery of Pompeii in the mid-eighteenth century, offering a vision of the Sublime that served as a counterpoint to the austerity of Neoclassicism. (Metropolitan Museum of Art),

Recent cleanup efforts on an overgrown section of the beach at Bacoli uncovered the remains of a monumental Roman villa which may (or may not) have been that of Pliny the elder. According to the 2024 announcement of the local archaeological soprintendenza, "Dating to around the first century AD, the villa was constructed in opus reticulatum, using carefully laid tufa blocks, and extends uninterrupted as far as the beach and into the seabed offshore. About ten large rooms have been identified, displaying several phases of construction, along with floor surfaces and traces of wall revetment."

Enough of the fragmentary floor survives to identify the subject as a bear hunt. The figures of three hunters are preserved, and one of them has his name, Lucius, inscribed above his head. The arm of another hunter is preserved along the left edge, along with his name, Minus. The hunters are driving four bears into a net; a fifth has already been captured. The net is set in a semi-circle and tied to trees at the right and left edges of the scene. The hunting scene is surrounded on three sides by a border of loop guilloche, and another vertical border of a foliate garland with a central ribbon frames the right end. The outermost border is a luxurious acanthus scroll. Heads emerge from elaborate leaf complexes in the corners, and smaller figures of erotes with armor, fruits and animals (both real and imaginary) are tucked into the scrolling acanthus along the edges (Getty website).

Getty Museum 72.AH.76

Mosaic Floor with Diana and Callisto Surrounded by Hunt Scenes, Gallo-Roman, AD 175–200. Found in Villelaure, France, 1832. Stone and glass tesserae, 300 × 270 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.71.73.99

As Mount Vesuvius erupts in the distance, the young Pliny continues his studies at his family’s villa—despite being urged to flee. Meanwhile, his uncle, Pliny the Elder, is sailing toward Vesuvius and will die trying to rescue a friend. Pliny’s letters comprise one of the great records of the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. In one, he tells of being able to "hear the wails of women, the cries of children, the shouts of men . . . others were reaching to the gods . . . others declared the gods no more." This is one of three large-scale history paintings Kauffmann produced in Italy in 1785 for a Mr. Bowles, an English patron. As was noted when the work was first exhibited at London’s Royal Academy in 1786, Pliny has two left feet. The reason for this may be that Kauffmann, then among the most popular artists in Rome, evidently relied on her less-talented husband, Antonio Zucchi, to complete many of her commissions. (Princeton University Art Museum)

A map of the area around Vesuvius. The cloud indicates the areas covered by ash and pumice (e.g. Herculaneum, Oplontis, Pompeii, Stabiae). Based on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_Vesuvius_79_AD_eruption.svg 

Sketch of Bay of Naples in 79AD showing the approximate route taken by Pliny the Elder from Misenum to Stabiae in his attempted rescue mission.