Colours of the Street: Form and Meaning of Facade Paintings at Pompeii and Herculaneum

The painted decoration was an important feature of the urban landscape of the Vesuvian cities and characterized several private and public buildings. A variety of colours and pictures that have unfortunately disappeared under the attack of the elements, completely altering the original appearance of the streets. Based on a complete catalogue of the extant decorations and on the analysis of archival material, the paper investigates this peculiar use of wall-painting through a new approach, considering the facade and its decoration as a result of a balance between private needs and ambitions, influenced also by functional and aesthetic characters of the quarter.