Alcubierre, Rocque Joachin de (1702-1780) A Spanish army engineer who arrived in Naples with Charles of Bourbon. Alcubierre’s army training made him an expert in tunneling methods, but he had no training in archaeology. His main concern was to find treasure to decorate the king’s palace.
Bardet de Villeneuve, Pierre (1700s) This French engineer took charge of the digs in 1741 when Alcubierre became ill. His contempt for the local people caused him problems.
Bayardi, Ottavio (1690-1765) A cousin of the prime minister of Naples, Bayardi was brought in to write a series of books about the finds at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The books were published beginning in 1752 and ridiculed throughout Europe. Bayardi was removed from his position.
Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788) The son of the king of Spain. He took control of the Naples area in 1734 and named himself king of the Two Sicilies. Charles sponsored the digs at Pompeii and Herculaneum to acquire antiquities for his palace at Portici. He later became Charles III of Spain.
Lorraine, Maurice de, Prince d'Elboeuf (1677-1763) A prince who built a villa at Portici in 1709. He organized the first dig at Resina after hearing about ancient statues found nearby.
Maria Amalia (1724-1760) As the wife of King Charles, she may have seen statues found by Prince d’Elboeuf when they were exhibited in Germany.
Paderni, Camillo (1720-1770) This scholar was in charge of studying and making drawings of the artifacts discovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Piaggio, Antonio (1711-1796) A priest and scholar, he was brought to Naples from the Vatican Library in Rome to decipher the text of the scrolls found at the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum.
Tanucci, Bernardo (1698-1793) As the prime minister of Naples, he was left in charge of the excavations when Charles took over the crown of Spain.
Weber, Karl Jacob (1712-1764) A Swiss army engineer recommended by Alcubierre to oversee the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii. Weber became interested in the houses and the life in the ancient Roman city. He proposed excavating and mapping whole villas and streets rather than just searching for treasure.
Winckelmann, Johann Joachim (1717-1768) A German scholar who visited Pompeii and wrote about the lack of access to the treasures. After a second visit, he had good words for Weber.
World History
