'Escape from Pompeii' Exhibition at Maritime Centre Vellamo

We visited the 'Escape from Pompeii' exhibition at the Maritime Centre Vellamo in Kotka about a month ago. The exhibition was open from April to September. We organized the trip together with Turku Classical Association Paideia, Palladion association, and the students of Turku Classical High School. Here is a brief report of the trip.

'Escape from Pompeii' exhibition

We set off early in the morning by bus from Turku and arrived in Kotka around noon. Two guided tours were arranged for us for the exhibition, one for the high school students and the other for the rest of the group. While waiting for our own guided tour, we explored the other exhibitions at Vellamo, which were also worth seeing.

Maritime Centre Vellamo

The guided tour was pretty good, but it didn't add much to what one could learn just by studying the objects, exhibition texts, and other materials. The guide also seemed a bit nervous upon hearing that there was a Pompeii scholar in the group. I tried to be encouraging and only corrected the guide at one point when she presented the plaster casts of two victims from Pompeii, claiming that these had been left under the lava.

The guided tour

In my opinion the exhibition was well-executed and diverse. The collection on display mainly consisted of authentic objects brought from Italy to Finland. These included sculptures, wall paintings, inscriptions, everyday objects, and jewelry, among other things. The selection was complemented with items from Finnish museum collections originating from Pompeii, which are seldom on display.

A fresco probably depicting the ancient port of Puteoli (now Pozzuoli).

A sculpture of Dionysus

A Pompeiian phallus amulet that belongs to the
archaeological collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency

The high-quality and clear information signs were written in three languages, and I didn't find any significant errors in them. The museum texts also highlighted recent scientific discussions, such as the timing of the destruction of Pompeii, i.e. whether the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 happened in August or October. This question was left open.

The exhibition effectively utilized various multimedia elements. At the beginning of the exhibition, a video installation depicted the eruption of Vesuvius and how people in antiquity interpreted such volcanic phenomena.

The video installation depicting the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79

Through video material, a maritime archaeological project was presented which involved the recovery of bronze rams of Roman warships in the Mediterranean. One video, projected on a wall, featured a 3D-modeled interior of a Pompeiian private house, while another video showcased colorful Pompeiian wall paintings that might otherwise have been challenging to include in the exhibition.

A 3D model of the so-called House of Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii.

An creative way to present the buildings of Pompeii and Herculaneum was a video panel lying on the floor. It displayed the locations of the buildings on maps of the cities at the same time as images of these structures were projected onto the wall above. The exhibition also featured a virtual theater mask created by a Finnish visual artist Carine Fabritius, which mimicked the viewer's facial movements and expressions.

A virtual map of Pompeii

A virtual filter representing a Pompeiian mask.
You can try the filter on Vellamo's Instagram profile by opening
the tab marked with three stars, where you will find the filter.
Note that it only works on the mobile app.

There were some minor points of criticism as well. The presentation of objects was not always very clear. For instance, objects retrieved from the Bay of Naples were gathered in a large showcase and described in a rather general manner. The items were not numbered, which could make it unclear for the average museum visitor to discern which among them were, for instance, parts of an anchor, a weight, or a wine skin.

Items retrieved from the Bay of Naples

The connection to maritime activities seemed somewhat thin, even though the exhibition did highlight the role of the Roman navy in rescue operations during the eruption of Vesuvius and the significance of maritime trade in the daily life of the inhabitants of the area. On display were inscriptions that shed light on the lives of sailors, objects related to trade, and a scale model of a Roman merchant ship.

A Roman merchant vessel of the horeia type, 1/5 scale.

I would have liked to see some Pompeian wall inscriptions in the exhibition, but this time they were not included. One at least was incorporated into the 3D model of a Pompeiian private house. The model seemed to be made with enough care that this graffito was, to my understanding, roughly in the right place on the wall.

Graffito:
Whoever loves, let him flourish.
Let him perish who knows not love.
Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love.
(Translation: Alison Cooley & M. G. L. Cooley)

The exhibition was well worth seeing and effectively highlighted the daily life of Pompeian residents and how this life ended so abruptly because of the disaster. We had the opportunity to spend a pleasant Saturday immersed in the world of Pompeii, which is a rare treat in Finland.