Hong Kong Museum of Art Tomorrow-Oct 5 Stabiae, where many deluxe historical villas were located, has long been overshadowed by its better known Unesco world heritage neighbour Pompeii in the province of Naples, southern Italy. But the ancient Roman town is put under the spotlight in the new exhibition, Otium Ludens Leisure and Play: Ancient Relics of the Roman Empire, which opens at the Hong Kong Museum of Art tomorrow. It will feature 170 artworks from Stabiae and offers a unique glimpse into the life of the wealthy in the Roman empire 2,000 years ago. Unlike Pompeii, which was a busy commercial port less than 5km away, Stabiae was the ultimate summer getaway for the Roman elite. Angela Vinci, director of exhibitions with the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation, describes Stabiae as the ancient Roman 'Beverly Hills'. The architect finds the size, lavish design and luxurious decorations of the Stabian villas impressive. 'In Pompeii, you have all these villas, even rich and large, they are always one on the side of the other, like honeycombs,' she says, 'but here in Stabiae, you have these huge villas, huge gardens, as large as football fields.' The exhibition displays relics excavated from both seaside villas and agricultural villas in Stabiae, including frescoes, glass, marble, bronze and iron. Through a marble mosaic floor, you can easily tell the opulent life ancient Romans led. 'Different kinds of marble were coming from different parts of the Roman empire, it was very expensive to ship them and some types of marble were as expensive as gold,' says Vinci. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, it covered the Stabian watercolour frescoes under dry ash and preserved them. Without appropriate preservation, the frescoes' brilliant colours fade as soon as they are out of the volcanic ashes. 'We are not doing new excavations if we are not ready to preserve what we find. We decided to leave things underneath until the moment we are really ready to do what is supposed to be done,' Vinci says. 10 Salisbury Rd, TST, Sun-Wed and Fri, 10am-6pm, Sat, 10am-8pm, closed Thu, HK$20. Inquiries: 2721 0116
