The exhibition focuses on a core of the photographic collection of the MANN, presenting for the first time to the public a series of views of Pompeii taken by the Russian photographer Gabriel Ivanovič de Rumine (1828–91), all precisely dated between March and April 1859.

De Rumine is an aristocrat and officer of the Russian army who, since 1856, has been dedicated to the study of photography between Paris and London. After achieving international recognition – he is a member of the Société Française de Photographie and the Royal Photographic Society – in 1858 he embarked as a photographer accompanying Grand Duke Constantine of Russia (brother of Tsar Alexander II) on a long cruise in the Mediterranean that touched, among other cities, Palermo, Naples, Athens, and Jerusalem.

On that occasion, de Rumine visited Pompeii and, thanks to a special permit granted by King Ferdinand II to the Grand Duke, took a series of views of the city, including the recently excavated Stabian Baths: to this day, it is the first photographic reportage of Pompeii with images of this size – each albumen print measures around 30 x 40 cm.

The MANN preserves twenty-eight of these rare albumen images, long forgotten in the archives, without date or attribution. The exhibition presents a wide selection of them, along with other historical photographs and archival documents that testify to de Rumine's visit and activity in the excavations and allow the dating of the shots with precision.

The exhibition was curated by Andrea Milanese, Ruggiero Ferrajoli, and Domenico Pino and, together with the exhibition Luigi Bazzani and the Pompeian house, is in dialogue with the new permanent exhibition dedicated to domestic furnishings in the adjacent rooms.