The Italian Cultural Institute in Oslo is hosting a new exhibition that offers visitors a unique perspective on daily life in ancient Pompeii through the stories of women who lived there nearly two thousand years ago.
Titled “Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii,” the photographic exhibition runs until September 4 and is the result of a collaboration between the Italian Cultural Institute and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. The project represents a visual adaptation of a larger exhibition previously presented at Pompeii’s Palestra Grande, where archaeological artifacts and historical evidence were used to explore women’s roles within Roman society.
The exhibition was inaugurated with a lecture by archaeologists Monica Salvadori and Monica Baggio of the University of Padua, who co-curated the project alongside Francesca Ghedini. Addressing a large Norwegian audience, they explained the research behind the exhibition and illustrated how archaeological discoveries have made it possible to reconstruct the lives of women who often remain absent from official historical narratives.
Rather than focusing on emperors or political leaders, the exhibition tells the stories of five women from different social backgrounds: Amaryllis the weaver, Asellina the innkeeper, Eumachia the entrepreneur, Nevoleia Tyche the freedwoman and Eutychis the enslaved woman. Through photographs of frescoes, inscriptions, graffiti, funerary monuments and everyday objects, visitors gain insight into their personal, professional and social lives.
Among those attending the opening were Italian Ambassador Stefano Nicoletti and leading Norwegian scholars of Roman history and archaeology, including Professors Knut Ødegård and Jon Iddeng.
Raffaella Giampaola, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Oslo, said the exhibition offers Norwegian audiences an opportunity to engage with one of the world’s most remarkable archaeological sites while encouraging reflection on the historical contributions of women. She noted that the female perspective allows history to be viewed not only through major political events but also through the experiences of ordinary individuals.
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, described the exhibition as an invitation to rediscover a different Pompeii—one that continues to reveal new insights into lives that have long remained hidden in the margins of history. He stressed that research into the role of women in ancient society remains an ongoing process, and that the Oslo exhibition represents an important step in continuing that exploration on an international stage.