Colours in Pompeiian cityscape: Adding pieces to the puzzle

This article is an extended and revised version of the paper Colour in Pompeiian Cityscape. In Search of a Lost Treasure , which was presented as an invited lecture at the AIC Congress in Granada, May 2005. It presents the preliminary results of a work in progress, carried out by an architect—myself—in close collaboration with the archaeologist Marina Weilguni. The aim is to understand the role of colour in the cityscape of Roman Pompeii. I here present some of our methods, including the study of excavation reports and artistic reproductions as well as reports on technical analyses of pigments and other material remains. For each method I will discuss how it adds to the knowledge and understanding. Finally, I take you for a walk through the streets of Pompeii, trying to see them and their colours as they were when the city was alive.