Herculaneum Fridays' return to the Archaeological Park, with shows, knowledge and archaeology under the stars.
New this year will be the opportunity for visitors to freely explore the archaeological area illuminated at night, strolling through the streets, workshops and sumptuous domus of ancient Herculaneum, deepening their knowledge of the site thanks to the Herculaneum Digital app, which can be downloaded free of charge on site. Through an itinerary dedicated to the event, the app will provide didactic content and accompany visitors along a route enriched by dance performances, theatrical and musical interventions, designed to engage in an unusual and evocative dialogue with the archaeological heritage.
The leitmotif of the events of Summer 2025 at the Park is the relationship between body and myth, explored from different perspectives. Myth, understood as a corpus of stories and images that nourish the collective imagination, also becomes a language for representing the human body: drives, desires, metamorphoses. Starting from these assumptions, the artistic path of I Venerdì di Ercolano stages these suggestions through different disciplines and languages.
Artistic programme
8 punti spettacolo
Cercamond Theatre Company
Flesh and ashes
A theatrical journey that restores centrality to the body as a living subject, no longer just an object of contemplation. Two scenic pictures, balanced between myth and irony, will animate the spaces of the Park:
- The myth of Tantalus - Giardino della Casa dell'Albergo: a tale of defiance of the gods taken from Ovid
- The grotesque preparation of a banquet - Botteghe sul Decumano Massimo: a dialogue inspired by the Plautin comedy
Cornelia Dance Company
Corpus Evocans
A site-specific performative path where the dancers' bodies evoke the myths and rituals of antiquity, activating a sensorial dialogue with the memory of the place. The choreographic gesture becomes ritual, evocation, connection between human and divine.
- Intimacy - Garden of the Central Baths: an intimate solo that explores the vulnerability and strength of the body, accompanied by video projections of bodily details
- Training - Gymnasium: an acrobatic trio that celebrates discipline and fatigue as a sacred act, evoking the gymnastic practices of the Roman world
- Offering - Thermopolium: danced rite with wine, evoking the cult of Dionysus and the ancestral link between nourishment and sacredness
- Remembrances - House of Neptune and Amphitrite: a totally bodily action, connected to background noises recalling the cooking fire, the sound of grain, the fluidity of the soups contained in the sunken doli
Pagus Association
Radici sonore - The Breath of the Earth
An immersive experience conceived by maestro Vincenzo Romano, combining sound, nature and historical memory. Two sound stations, Casa del Gran Portale and Antica Spiaggia, dedicated respectively to the beat of the volcanic earth and the breath of the sea, will guide the public through a contemporary ritual that interweaves past and present, evoking the emotional and ancestral landscape of the site.
Meeting Point
access from Corso Resina 187 and from Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi 19
What's included
- Free Visit
- show interludes
- Entrance to the Site
Date
July 4, 11, 18, 25
August 1, 8
Open to the public from 20:00 to 24:00 hours
Access to the Park will be organized into two shifts:
- First shift: Entry from 8:00 PM, with the visit lasting until 9:30 PM. Mandatory exit from the archaeological area by 9:30 PM, with full departure from the Park by 10:00 PM
- Second shift: Entry from 10:00 PM, with the visit lasting until 11:30 PM. Mandatory exit from the archaeological area by 11:30 PM, with full departure from the Park by 12:00 AM (midnight)
le 23.30)
Services
-
Visits
For individuals on the calendar
available in Italian
Additional Info
- The visit experience will be self-guided: visitors can move independently along a route that includes adequately illuminated sites and buildings. Along the itinerary, at dedicated stations, artistic performances (theater, dance, music) will take place, each lasting 3-4 minutes and repeated cyclically for the entire duration of both shifts
- Visitors must move while avoiding crowds, following the instructions of security and reception staff, supported by signage and audio/digital messages
- A map will be distributed at the entrance showing the routes, accessible areas, and the location of the various performances. The QR code will provide access to the "Ercolano digitale" app with the specific itinerary for "Hercolaneum Fridays"
- Visitors using wheelchairs can request assistance by writing to pa-erco@cultura.gov.it at least 3 days before their visit, indicating the date, time, and a contact phone number
- Wearing flat, comfortable shoes is recommended
- It is advisable to protect your skin with insect repellent for greater comfort during the evening visit
- In case of adverse weather conditions, the event may be canceled. In the event of cancellation due to force majeure, purchased tickets will be refunded
- Free parking is available at Rodinò School (Via IV Novembre), Iovino Scotellaro School (Traversa Via IV Novembre), and at the Villa Favorita car park (Corso Resina) until spaces are exhausted. Paid parking is available at the "Herculaneum Parking" Municipal Car Park on Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi
Info Reservation
- Booking online
- Pre-sale is also mandatory for visitors with a free ticket
- Tickets can be purchased for the duration of the shift, subject to availability
Where
Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi, Ercolano (NA)
How to reach
Circumvesuviana:
linea Napoli-Sorrento
linea Napoli-Poggiomarino
linea Napoli-Torre Annunziata
fermata Ercolano
Accessibility
Visitors with motor disabilities may contact the security staff at the entrance, so that access to the archaeological area via the ramp of the III cardo can be arranged specifically for them.