Villa San Marco; in the Scope of Vesuvius; Stabia(e), Italy

The once-opulent Villa San Marco,  in southern Italy, was buried by tons of volcanic material with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.  Located in Stabia(e), on a high plain overlooking what is now the Tyrrhenian Sea, the structure was undisturbed until the mid-eighteenth century when archaeological excavations began at Villa San Marco and neighboring residences.  This is when, between 1749 and 1754, furniture and some of the better-preserved frescoes were removed. Some pieces wound up in museums.    Villa San Marco was subsequently reburied and the site was not revisited until the mid-twentieth century when excavations were conducted between l950 and about l962.   Stabia(e) is located south of Pompeii, Herculaneum and so many other areas affected by the first-century volcanic eruptions of Mount Vesuvius.  In l980, Villa San Marco was heavily damaged by an earthquake.  The structure is said to cover well over 35,000 square feet.