Regina Gee - MSU

In AD 79, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying the town of Pompeii. This same catastrophic event also buried the seaside town of Oplontis.

Dr. Regina Gee’s lecture will explore the ancient history and modern re- emergence of two ancient Roman sites from this community: Villa A (Villa Oplontis) a sprawling luxury villa with over one hundred surviving rooms and “Oplontis B”, a commercial complex that contained apartments and an extensive wine export business. While Villa A exemplifies the delights of leisure, Oplontis B illustrates the necessity of commerce, two sides of the same coin showing how ancient Romans exploited the richness of the Bay of Naples. From her perspective as a senior research member of the Oplontis Project (UT Austin, Center for the Study of Ancient Italy), Dr. Gee will discuss the history of both sites pre-eruption, as well as the story of their modern retrieval and preservation. Dr. Gee is an associate professor of art history in the School of Art at Montana State University and has a Ph.D. in Roman art and architecture. She has been a member of the Oplontis Project since 2008. She has published extensively on the topic and presents papers annually on her research.