Modern Egyptomania was born in Pompeii. In December 1764, the first Egyptian temple Europeans had ever seen was brought to light there: the Temple of Isis. It immediately became the pre-eminent symbol of Egypt, and was visited by men of letters, artists and rulers from all corners of the world. It sparked a wild interest in Egypt, charmingly shaped by fashion, esotericism and Masonic ideas. The influence it exerted upon the imagination in both the visual and literary field was practically boundless. That temple, however, and the worship of the great and omnipresent Isis had already been of great importance in ancient Pompeii. The temple was the only cult building in the city that had been restored prior to the eruption, while all others were still filled with debris from the damage caused by the earthquake or 62 AD. Signs or the popular devotion to Isis are found everywhere in the city: in the many home shrines to the goddess, as well as in the statuettes of the goddess that many had in their houses or carried hanging from their necks as amulets - as in the case of the girl frozen by the eruption at Porta Nola, who was carrying a small silver Isis with her, meant by the eruption at Porta Nola, who was carrying a small silver Isis with her, meant to protect her in her flight. Pompeii also bears traces of the Egyptomania which had struck the whole ancient Roman world, particularly in the wake of Octavian"s conquest of Egypt. The architectures featured in third-style frescoes are thus all embellished with motifs of Egvotian inspiration. This trend was to turn into a real craze, to the point that practically every luxury dwelling boasted at least a few exotic touches. Following the style en vogue among the rich and powerful, the gardens of some houses in Pompeii even included artificial canals reproducing the periodic flooding of the Nile. What echoes most of all throughout the ages in the land of Pompeii, however, are the prayers to Isis. And that rosary - the rosary which to this day continues to lie at the heart of the veneration of Our Lady of Pompei, which in day continues to lie at the heart of the veneration of Our Lady of Pompei, which in the 19th century Bartolo Longo would have the locals recite - possibly represents an unconscious and remote echo of those prayers.