La raffigurazione di soggetti alimentari nella decorazione pittorica residenziale romana di area vesuviana

Abstract

Art and food are two founding pillars of human experience, as it can be demonstrated by a cursory look at the history of mankind.The main focus of this paper is a survey of their relationship in the context of ancient Rome, in particular during the chaotic period  between the late Republic and the first Imperial Era (1st century BC - 1st century AD), a time of deep upheavals both for the State and for individuals. On the basis of a study of the rich corpus of so called still-life paintings coming from Vesuvio area - dramatically but luckily survived through history - I’ll try to discuss artistic, social and emotional meanings of food representations, as they appear from the wall decoration system of private Pompeian houses.