The National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has four months of Roman festivities planned to tie in with its blockbuster Pompeii exhibition in Wellington.
A Day in Pompeii opens in the museums showcase Visa Platinum Gallery on December 19 and runs until April 25.
Te Papas acting chief executive, Michelle Hippolite, said New Zealanders were in for a truly unique experience.
Exhibition highlights from Pompeii include a bronze gladiators helmet and armour, exquisite gold jewellery, and a six-metre wide garden fresco that once graced the outdoor dining area of an opulent villa. There’s also a 3D theatre that allows visitors to visualise the eruption of Mt Vesuvius.
Visitors to the exhibition can also enter a draw for a trip of a lifetime for two to Pompeii.
The exhibition arrives in New Zealand after a successful four-month run at Melbourne Museum. The Australian museum extended its opening hours until 10pm on Thursday and Friday nights and until midnight on Saturdays to meet demand. Some 325,000 people saw the Melbourne show believed to have been Australias most popular museum exhibition. In cultural terms, only the recent Dali exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, which attracted 330,000 visitors, has been more popular. It comes at a time when Australasian museums are declining the chance to show the touring Tutankhamun exhibition, King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs, because its $10m pricetag is too high.
Victorian arts minister Lynne Kosky said the Pompeii exhibition had “surpassed expectations“, though she would not disclose how much the exhibition had cost to put on. The shows Wellington run its only New Zealand season is expected to prove just as popular among Kiwis.
Visitors can walk through the streets of Pompeii and discover some of the treasures that were entombed beneath the ash of Vesuvius for almost 1,700 years. Marble statues and fine mosaics are featured, along with everyday items such as cooking pots, wine jars, and even carbonised food.
Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79AD, burying the wealthy city of Pompeii under tonnes of volcanic ash. Once home to around 12,000 inhabitants, it remained in near-perfect preservation until archaeologists rediscovered it in 1748.
An Impressive Events Programme
A comprehensive events programme has been planned to tie in with the exhibition. There will be lectures by archaeologists, volcanologists and leading Classics scholars, as well as live music and poetry performances, childrens activities, and cooking demonstrations drawing on ancient and modern Italian cuisine.
Saturday, December 19 (Pompeii Family Fun Day)
* Pompeii crafts: learn about mosaics and make a glittering gladiators helmet
Where are our volcanoes?: Join geologist Dr Hamish Campbell for a map-based tour of New Zealands volcanoes.
* Tarawera: a New Zealand Vesuvius?: Mt Tarawera exploded into action during the early hours of June 10, 1886. Dr Hamish Campbell explores what happened and why, and compares the Tarawera eruption with the Somma-Vesuvius eruption.
Sunday, December 20
* NatureSpace Discovery Centre: Study volcanic rocks, dig for treasures, or create your own volcano.
* The archaeology of Pompeii: Go behind the scenes of one of the worlds greatest archaeological landscapes with archaeologist and Museum Victorian CEO Dr Patrick Greene.
Sunday, January 10
* Pompeii craft with Fifi Colston: create your own ancient decoration a snaky Roman wristband.
Thursday, February 4
* Vesuvius: Mt Vesuvius is similar to New Zealand volcanoes Ruapehu, Tongariro, and White Island. Join Dr Hamish Campbell to explore its history, geology, scientific significance, and its inevitable future.
* Lorenzo Buhne and La Cura perform a beautiful acoustic set of traditional southern Italian village melodies and harmonies with tambourines and melodica.
Thursday, February 11
* Discovery and excavation: Dr Matthew Trundle, Senior Lecturer in Classics, Greek, and Latin at Victoria University of Wellington, examines the gradual rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Learn how archaeologists today interpret the evidence they find.
* Canto bello del liuto (Beautiful song of the lute): The Chanterelle Early Music Trio play lute songs and duets from the golden age of the Italian Renaissance.
Saturday, February 13
* Italy in music: A special concert by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, featuring work by Italian composers Rossini, Respighi, Verdi, and others. NZSO concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppnen will perform Summer from Vivaldis Four Seasons.
Sunday, February 14
* An afternoon of food shopping and cooking in Pompeii.
* The Mediterranean Trio: Salvi Gaeta, Armando Gilmoni, and Robin Page play traditional music and songs from all areas of Italy.
Thursday, February 18 
* A day in the life: This talk Dr Arthur Pomeroy, Professor in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington, brings alive the busy Roman city of Pompeii, and describes a typical day in the life of its inhabitants as they go about their business.
* Carmina latina, nobilia et turpia (Latin poetry, high and low): This recitation of Latin poetry (with English translations) features verse ranging from the pathos of Virgil to the earthiness of Juvenal.
Saturday, February 20
* Vespas, Italian motorbikes and Fiats: A display of Vespa scooters, Italian motorbikes, and Fiat cars arranged for close inspection on the Te Papa Plaza.
Thursday, February 25
* New Zealand volcanoes: New Zealand volcanologists share the latest research results for two different active volcanic regions in New Zealand: the highly explosive Taupo Supervolcano and the gentler Auckland Volcanic Field.
* Bravo String Quartet: Bravo String Quartet play a selection of Baroque, classic, romantic, and contemporary Italian songs.
Sunday, March 7
* The Roman garden: Gardening enthusiast Annie Brown presents a comprehensive pictorial journey through the ancient gardens of Pompeii, and explains the important role of the garden in Roman life.
Thursday, March 11
* Pompeian economy: Pompeii reveals a wide variety of economic activities market gardens, shops, bars, taverns, baths, theatres, brothels, and gladiatorial shows. Learn about the level of monetisation and trade in a small coastal city at the height of the Roman Empire.
* Canto bello del liuto (Beautiful song of the lute): The Chanterelle Early Music Trio play lute songs and duets from the golden age of the Italian Renaissance.
Sunday, March 14
* Letters from Italy: Julie Biuso first toured Italy in 1975 and fell in love with the place, people, and culinary delights. Letters she wrote home while she travelled paint vivid pictures of her experiences. Join Julie for brunch and listen to her read from these letters.
* Enjoy an exclusive viewing of A Day in Pompeii. Cost: $75 public, $70 Friends
Ticket information here.
Thursday, March 18
* Diving the Ring of Fire: Considerably more volcanic activity occurs on the seafloor than on land, with some of the worlds largest and most active submarine volcanoes located on the Ring of Fire. Surveys over the past 10 years have revealed a world of eruption, rich mineral deposits, and exotic animals. This talk is with scientist Dr Cornel de Ronde, who has surveyed and explored volcanoes along the Kermadec arc, the Mariana arc, and the Aeolian arc near Italy.
Sunday, March 21
* From the streets of Pompeii to the salons of Paris: the Classical influence on Western fashion. A fascinating, illustrated talk by Leimomi Gorsich Oakes exploring how discoveries at the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii have influenced fashion from the 1700s to the present day.
Thursday, March 25
* Baths and businesses: Pompeii was bustling with a range of businesses. Shopkeepers sold food and drink; there were bakers, fullers, dyers, metal workers, and lamp makers; and the city had brothels and baths. This lecture by Dr Judy Deuling, Senior Lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington, considers the range of activities and their locations within the town.
* Carmina latina, nobilia et turpia (Latin poetry, high and low): This recitation of Latin poetry (with English translations) features verse ranging from the pathos of Virgil to the earthiness of Juvenal.
Sunday, March 28
* Torna a surriento Italian songs and arias: Singers from the New Zealand School of Music perform songs and arias from Naples, as well as arias from the great Italian opera tradition.
Thursday, April 8
* Pompeii house and garden: Pompeii offers a glimpse into the amazing interiors of Roman houses, where walls were not simply painted with flat colour, but were opened-up vistas of realistic and fanciful architecture, and panels with mythological scenes and landscapes. This lecture considers several Pompeian paintings in their indoor and outdoor contexts. With Dr Judy Deuling, senior lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington.
* Lorenzo Buhne and La Cura perform a beautiful acoustic set of traditional southern Italian village melodies and harmonies with tambourines and melodica.
Sunday, April 11
* La musica antica ye olde songs: Baroque Voices take listeners on a journey of ancient discovery with rare and beautiful Italian music from the dawning of the Baroque era.
Thursday, April 15
* The Grand Tour: Te Papa Curator of European Art Victoria Robson gives a floortalk on the British watercolours and prints painted by eighteenth and nineteenth century artists taking The Grand Tour of Italy. Numbers are limited book by calling (04) 381 7000
* In the shadow of Vesuvius: Italian-trained art conservator Carolina Izzo details the conservation of items found in the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and talks about some of the cities amazing decorative art, jewellery, furniture and sculpture which have informed and inspired Western culture.
* La Dolce Vita: An energetic instrumental trio known for its humour plays spirited interpretations of European caf-style music.
Thursday, April 22
* Pompeii and the social life of the Empire: This talk gives a tour of Pompeiis baths, and then ventures to the amphitheatre to watch the gladiators. Following that, its off to the entertainment district for a risqu night out. With Dr Arthur Pomeroy, Professor in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington.
* La Dolce Vita: An energetic instrumental trio known for its humour plays spirited interpretations of European caf-style music.
Activities for the Kids
* Volcanoes!: Study real volcanic rocks with a geologist and go on a field trip around Te Papa. Youll stop at all the volcanic hotspots: Awesome Forces, OurSpace, Bush City, and NatureSpace.
* Craft activities (construct an erupting volcano; re-create the Battle of the Mountains; befriend a pet igneous rock)
* Pompeii at play: Learn about life in Pompeii with exciting activities presented by Classics students from Victoria University of Wellington. Includes mosaic design, Roman coin-rubbings, story-telling, and fresco painting.
* Beginners lessons in Italian.
Workshops for Everyone
Jewellery, mosaics, and sculpture were some of the treasures unearthed at Pompeii. Learn about these art forms and make examples of your own in special, single-session workshops run by Inverlochy Art School. The workshops which cover jewellery making; mosaic making and sculpture are suitable for adults and include a ticket to A Day in Pompeii. Visit their site for full details.