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One of the last things that Pope Francis did before his death in April 2025 was to approve the canonization of Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer who had spent his life building an enormous shrine to Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, next to the famous archaeological excavations. Our Lady of Pompeii: Ruins, Religion, and Memory tells the story of the shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, and the new city that developed around it from the 1870s onwards. Jessica Hughes focuses on the shrine's relationship to the neighbouring archaeological site, and what this can tell us about the Catholic church's view of classical antiquity more broadly. In six chapters, and with the help of more than fifty photographs and maps, it shows how the ruined city of Pompeii gradually became part of the shrine's identity, providing inspiration for the artists, writers, and pilgrims who were drawn to the shrine and the miracle-working image of Our Lady that was housed there. It reveals the ambivalent attitude of Bartolo Longo and his collaborators to the classical past, which was seen in both positive and negative terms—that is, as an object of fascination and antiquarian curiosity, and as the dead and dusty 'land of idols and demons'. By telling the little-known story of this shrine and the people who lived, worked, and worshipped there, the book also gives a valuable new perspective on ancient Pompeii, showing how this famous archaeological site continues to hold meaning for people around the world.
