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 TM
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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