He reconstructed the façades of the houses along this street with their balconies, upper floors and roofs, using a meticulous excavation technique. In doing so he demonstrated how it was possible both to understand the dynamics of how the buildings had been buried in the first place, and also what the original structure of the houses had been – thus making it possible to restore them accurately.

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Spinazzola was succeeded by one of the most dynamic and controversial archaeologists in the history of the excavation of Pompeii — Amedeo Maiuri.

Maiuri uncovered the city’s walls, and found a large necropolis along its southern walls – while his excavation of the Via di Nocera allowed him also to explore Regio I and Regio II. This, however, was carried out using inaccurate methodology, with inadequate instruments, and the project suffered from chronic underfunding, so the houses were not well restored and were eventually practically abandoned.

Maiuri also uncovered the Casa del Menandro and Villa dei Mister, and he undertook stratigraphical research under the AD 79 level, in his search for the origins of Pompeii.

Alfonso De Franciscis became director of excavations in 1964 – his period in charge was characterised by an emphasis on the restoration of buildings that had already been uncovered. Only the magnificent Casa di Polibio was uncovered in this period.

Following him, Fausto Zevi and Giuseppina Cerulli Irelli had to work hard to resolve the problems caused in Pompeii by the earthquake of 1980. Then in 1984 Baldassare Conticello started an extensive and systematic restoration of buildings in Regio I and II, where excavation work had already been completed.

The excavation of the Complesso dei Casti Amanti was done ex novo (from scratch). The present director, Pietro Giovanni Guzzo (who started his stint in Pompeii in 1994) has had to confront many management and financial problems in order to plan the finishing of excavations and the complete restoration o