Villa Julia Felice, Pompeii

I unlock the gate to Albergo Giulia Felice. Inside, I hesitate because of the deep shadows and uneven ground. When my eyes adjust and I regain my footing, I gasp at the sight of a magical cavern.

Colorful wall frescoes survive in chipped pieces in the albergo (hotel). Since the late 1700s, excavation reveals the beautifully-planned albergo which reaches on a long axis the size of a palace. Reception rooms, triclinium (dining room) and sleeping rooms open onto the portico which is supported by white marbled, four-sided columns still displaying their decorative long fluting. In front of the portico lies a long, shapely marble pond once filled with fish, fresh for feasting. Beyond the pond stands a trellis and beyond that, an orchard of fruit trees.

I marvel at my good luck. The superintendent at Pompeii, Italy, has granted me a permit to paint in some of the famous, yet fragile, classical Roman villas in ruins. Many are hidden from the public and that is why I am at Albergo Giulia Felice, all by myself. It took months to gain permission for this moment at the scavi (ruins).

(To be continued)