Pompeii to Open Children's Museum in 2025

The Pompeii Archaeological Park will open a dedicated children's museum, the Pompeii Children's Museum, in 2025, with preview activities starting July 2024. Housed in the 19th-century Casina Rosellino building on via dell'Abbondanza, the museum is championed by park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel. It will be designed and managed by a public-private partnership including the Aion Consortium (artem and le nuvole/teatro arte scienza) and Gruppo Pleiadi. The museum will offer educational play, experimentation, creative experiences, scientific outreach, theater, and music for children and families. A groundbreaking ceremony on June 19, 2024, involved 100 children in educational tours and planting a walnut tree. The museum's guardian figure is Mimmo Paladino's 'Cavallo-Enzo,' cast by Fonderia Di Girolamo of Naples. Activities will extend across the park, including domus, public buildings, green spaces like the Foro Boario and Bosco Sacro, and sites of Greater Pompeii (Oplonti, Villa Regina, Antiquarium at Boscoreale, Villa San Marco, Villa Arianna, Reggia di Quisisana at Castellammare di Stabia). Over 20 partners are involved, including the University of Naples Federico II, Giffoni Experience, Academy of Fine Arts of Naples, and Conservatory of San Pietro a Maiella. The museum emphasizes inclusivity, with programs for visitors with disabilities. Summer 2024 will feature itineraries, workshops, and a pilot summer camp for park employees' children.