Detail of fresco in which baby Hercules wrestles a snake. Image courtesy the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Stolen Hercules Fresco Finds Its Home After Decades in U.S. Collection

Archaeologists at Pompeii have identified the original location of a looted fresco fragment depicting the infant Hercules strangling serpents, solving a mystery that began when the artwork was stolen years ago from a Roman villa. The fragment, which returned to Italy in 2023 from a private American collection, once decorated the sacred chapel of the