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Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans Revive Old World Italy

Mobile Bay Cries “Up Pompeii”

Edited by Sarah Wilman

A major exhibition on Pompeii will make its first stop at The Exploreum and Science Center in Mobile, Alabama in January 2007. “A Day in Pompeii” is a first, as Pompeii has never released its artefacts before. The exhibition will use photo murals and architectural elements to recreate Pompeii's bustling street scenes and beautiful villas. Hundreds of authentic objects excavated from the ancient city will be on display: gold coins, jewellery, room-sized frescoes, marble statues, baking ovens, fishing gear and many other pieces, selected to tell the story of daily life in Pompeii. The final section of the exhibit evokes the human cost of the disaster with eight plaster casts of residents who failed to escape, such as a man clutching a cloth to his mouth and a couple who held their embrace as they fell.

The Romans Are Coming

To accompany the exhibition on February 3 and 4, 2007, an ancient Roman legion field camp will be recreated in downtown Mobile. Approximately 100 re-enactors, wearing historically correct armour and military equipment, will set up tents and other equipment just as Roman legions would have done in the first century A.D. Specialists in Roman legion and gladiator combat will be on hand to ensure accuracy and answer questions. Various activities will be scheduled throughout each of the two days including archery demonstrations, combat engagements, gladiator fights, marching drills, a pay ceremony and lectures about what day-to-day life was like for a typical Roman solider.
http://www.mobile.org/

5th Century Venice is Unmasked in New Orleans

Twelfth Night may be the last day of Christmas to some, but for New Orleans, the sixth of January signals the start of the world-famous Mardi Gras season. Its roots lie in the Venetian celebration of Mardi Gras, known as Carnivale, which dates back to the Middle Ages. Many of the well known traditions like the masked balls display “carnival characteristics” of a risqué and uninhibited nature and these are still found in the New World.

Gracing the lobby of the International House Hotel throughout Mardi Gras, four Venetian mannequins are literally stopping traffic in the Central Business District with their historic splendor. The figures were created in the style of traditional Venetian Carnivale costumes, imitating their elaborate style and elegance. The dresses are gold, peach, grey, black, and purple, with simple demi-masks of white and gold. They have been expertly illuminated in order to show off their silk drapery, frothy feathers and appliqués. A fourth lady, a grande dame, is dressed in gold and stands ten feet tall on a table in the center of the lobby.
http://www.ihhotel.com/

Venice is the perfect city to combine romance, history and festivities:http://www.travellady.com/Issues/December05/2032Venice.htm

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