Picta fragmenta. La pittura vesuviana: una rilettura

Il pi\uf9 grande archivio della pittura antica: Pompei e la regione vesuviana lo sono ancora, a quasi tre secoli dall\u2019inizio della loro riscoperta. Anche se in questa seconda vita non tutto quello che era stato riportato alla luce ha superato la prova del tempo: molte decorazioni, ancora ben leggibili e ricche di colore al momento del rinvenimento, oggi sono scomparse. Per assicurare anche a chi verr\ue0 dopo di noi la conoscenza di questo eccezionale patrimonio, tanto prezioso quanto fragile, due sono le vie principali da percorrere: la conservazione della materia e il restauro della memoria. Solo attraverso azioni sistematiche di manutenzione i picta fragmenta di Pompei e gli altri vesuviani, cos\uec come quelli di tutti gli altri siti archeologici che hanno restituito tracce delle pareti dipinte del mondo antico, possono resistere all\u2019usura del tempo. Altrettanto importante \ue8 il lavoro di chi cerca di ricondurre i frammenti alla loro situazione originaria, ricomponendo disegni e restituendo colori, con un restauro che pu\uf2 essere reale e materico, ma anche virtuale. Alla base di entrambi sta l\u2019indispensabile miniera di informazioni che generazioni di ricercatori (archeologi, storici dell\u2019arte, archeometri) e di artisti (fotografi, disegnatori, pittori) hanno contribuito a formare. Da questa sinergia di competenze e di indirizzi nasce quell\u2019approccio globale e olistico allo studio della pittura antica che la comunit\ue0 scientifica indica come necessario: per meglio conoscere le pareti antiche in s\ue9, quale espressione di un\u2019arte applicata, e nei loro contesti, e per meglio farle conoscere. Pompei e i siti vesuviani sono, anche in questo, uno straordinario osservatorio-laboratorio: rileggere, con occhi nuovi e nuove domande, quello che delle loro pareti dipinte \ue8 arrivato sino a noi \ue8 l\u2019intento di questo libro. Alla ricerca, a partire dai picta fragmenta, delle picturae antiche: una realt\ue0 al plurale, da indagare con un approccio al plurale

Museum of Light: The New Acropolis Museum and the Campaign to Repatriate the Elgin Marbles

It is almost half-a-dozen years since the New Acropolis Museum in Athens was inaugurated in June 2009, following a gestation period of over three decades. Before, during and after the construction of the building, the importance of natural light was frequently emphasised by the Museum's Swiss-French architect, Bernard Tschumi, as well as many Greek government officials, archaeologists, and other heritage professionals. The manner in which the same bright sunlight illuminates both the Parthenon and the temple's decorative sculptures which are now on display in the Museum, is also routinely referenced by campaigners advocating a return of those sculptures that were removed from the Athenian Acropolis on the orders of Lord Elgin between 1801–03 and subsequently shipped to London. Following the purchase of the collection by the British government in 1816, the Marbles of the Elgin Collection were presented to the British Museum, where they are presently on display in Room 18, the Duveen Gallery. However, for more than two centuries it has been maintained that the sculptures can only be truly appreciated when viewed in the natural light of Athens. Even before the completion of the New Acropolis Museum there were bitter attacks on the manner in which the Marbles are displayed in the British Museum, and the quality of the illumination afforded to the sculptures in the Duveen Gallery. The aesthetics of the Attic light has therefore taken its place as one of the principal weapons in the armoury of Greek officials and international campaigners seeking the return of the Marbles removed by Lord Elgin. Nonetheless, this paper will argue against the accepted orthodoxy that the New Acropolis Museum replicates the original light conditions many of the sculptures from the temple experienced when on the Parthenon. Indeed, this article will dispute the goal of many architects, politicians, and heritage professionals of the need ensure that, when on public display, all of the Parthenon sculptures are bathed in bright natural light. The ability to display the Marbles in the sun-drenched gallery of the New Acropolis Museum forges a powerful link binding the environment of Classical Athens with the present-day capital of Greece, offering politicians and activists seeking the repatriation of the Elgin Marbles a potent weapon wielded to great effect. However, the politically motivated design parameters laid on the museum, requiring the building admit vast amounts of natural Attic light, has destroyed the architectural context the Marbles were displayed in when originally affixed to the temple in the fifth century BC