MAV - Museo Archeologico Virtuale

A plunge into the past through a multi-sensory experience, to know and discover in detail the historical realities of Herculaneum and Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. This is the mission of the MAV, a structure born in the heart of Herculaneum, which guarantees a new way of cultural fruition. Thanks to the use of the most advanced technologies, the visitor is placed in a virtual context that has been faithfully reconstructed.

The itinerary

The journey begins after passing through a kind of ancestral door that dematerialises the bodies in the streams of connective intelligence and leads to the discovery of the names and faces of the ancient Ercolanesi, with whom one learns about the history of the community and its way of life.
Along the Bourbon tunnels, you can then catch a glimpse of the splendid building of the Villa dei Papiri, where the Greek philosopher Philodemus and his friends used to meet in a garden similar to an Athenian kepos.
Passing through a burning cloud is a prelude to the discovery of the houses and monuments of the ancient Vesuvian cities, shown in all their splendour; wandering among such beauties, one glimpses an ancient coffer containing marvellous jewels, shown to the visitor in holographic form.
Continuing the journey, one enters the Library of the Villa of the Papyri, where the fragments and thoughts of the philosophers and poets of Herculaneum are displayed. Amidst voices, images and market cries, you enter a room with an interactive table that, with the slightest touch, reveals the customs and traditions of the people who lived in the area.
A dark corner is then illuminated with some of the most beautiful Vesuvian murals, which can be navigated in an enlarged format to show every nuance in detail. The practice of idleness in the pursuit of pleasure, so dear to the Epicureans, is intimately linked to the Roman world: light thermal vapours introduce the characteristic paintings found in the lupanariums and suburban baths of ancient Pompeii.
The last installation is an animated reconstruction of the Phorus of Pompeii, the vital centre of the city, offering the visitor a synthesis of the transformation of the site over the last 2000 years.
More than a cultural visit, it is a unique journey into the past.