The Touring Hall's new appearance features Mount Vesuvius. The chairs and tables are on their way down to the lower plaza for Piazza Museo.
Source: Museum Victoria
Almost two years of planning and preparation lie behind A Day in Pompeii, the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition that opens on 26 June at Melbourne Museum. The venue is a hive of activity as crews put the finishing touches to the exhibition and finalise all aspects of the wider exhibition program.
The outside wall of the Touring Hall has been transformed by a vivid illustration of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. There has been further activity on the Plaza to ship in and set up Piazza Museo, a special pop-up outdoor bar that will serve fine food and wine for the duration of the exhibition. The heated, undercover marquee will be central to A Night in Pompeii on Thursday evenings, when the exhibition will remain open until 9pm.
Extensive public programs for all kinds of audiences are planned over the next months. Visitors can book to attend lectures, workshops, special luncheons at Grossi Florentino and much more. Family and school groups will also enjoy special programs and activities in and around the exhibition.
The online team has assembled a detailed website that provides further information about many of the magnificent artefacts brought to Melbourne from Italy. To provide a geographic context, maps indicate where each object was uncovered during archaeological excavations. Website visitors can also view pictures of how Pompeii looks today, preview a virtual recreation of a wealthy Pompeii villa, and explore the full schedule of public programs. A new online ticketing system, also accessible from the site, allows visitors to pre-purchase their tickets and avoid the queues.
A Day in Pompeii opens to the public on 26 June and runs until 25 October 2009.