Union Station is hosting an exhibit on Pompeii starting on November 18, 2016 and running until next Spring. Kansas City is the first city in the United States to host this traveling show, which will be comprised of nearly 200 artifacts from the Naples National Archaeological Museum, including the famous plaster casts of those who could not escape the devastation almost 2,000 years ago.

Gino Serra, Honorary Vice Consul of Italy in Kansas City, and his wife Paetra Serra, along with Ursula Terrasi and her husband Jim Miller, are chairing an exclusive event at Union Station the night before the exhibit opens.

The evening will feature:

Food: prepared by Lidia's and Brancato's. Click here for a personal message from Lidia Bastianich on this event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny9eieJ-4pc&feature=youtu.be

Music: Italian crooner favorites by Rudy Amato plus traditional Italian music provided by a classically-trained trio.

History: In addition to a private, sneak preview of the Pompeii exhibit, guests will enjoy learning more about the MU School of Archaeology's partnership with the Capitoline Museums in Rome (The Hidden Treasure of Rome,) to study, catalog and help preserve ancient Roman artifacts. At the event will also be the Chair of MU School of Geological Sciences, who is a volcanologist, to answer questions on Vesuvius.

Honoree: The committee for the event has selected Robert Serra as Honorary Chair for the event. He will be recognized for his 40 years of service to the Italian Community as the Honorary Vice Consul of Italy. He was appointed on September 17, 1970 and at the time he was the youngest Italian consul appointed in the world. He served until 2010 when he reached the mandatory retirement age.

This will be a fundraising event for Union Station's Preservation Fund, which goes toward major capital improvements of the station. Please see this invitation for information on the various benefactor levels. https://issuu.com/unionstationkc/docs/pompeiievening_evite_6x6small/1 Space is limited. The invitation also lists the committee members.

To purchase, please visit this page: https://uskc.wufoo.com/forms/zah4ggv1kwstyt/ 

Below are the tax deductible portions of the benefactor/individual ticket prices:

Titanio – Titanium: $23,500 is the tax deductible portion
Platino – Platinum: $13,750 is the tax deductible portion
Oro – Gold: $9,000 is the tax deductible portion
Argento – Silver: $4,500 is the tax deductible portion
Rame – Copper: $2,200 is the tax deductible portion
Nichel – Nickel: $800 is the tax deductible portion
Bronzo - Bronze: $400 is the tax deductible portion
Ottone - Brass: $200 is the tax deductible portion

For additional information on the exhibit, please visit these two links:

http://www.unionstation.org/pompeii/

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article100364537.html