They are crazy those Romans. Or not. A humorous image, obviously modified, circulates on social networks, showing a strange mosaic of Pompeii, on which we can distinguish a QR code.
An improbable assembly, the QR code having been invented in Japan in 1994, nearly two millennia after the eruption of Vesuvius which froze the Italian city in the year 79.
By performing a reverse image search, we find the original image, not credited, on
several sites. This is a photo taken in the so-called Triptolemus house. Another picture,
available on Flickr, shows the delicacy of this mosaic, on which cubes give a relief effect.
As for the QR code which has been affixed to this image, it is valid and refers to an Italian university professor, Andrea d’Adgnolo. The professor denied being at the origin of this photomontage, to our Italian colleagues by Il Gazzetino. He finds the whole story, however, “sympathetic.”
Photomontage has circulated a lot in Italy, which imposes a “green pass”, a health pass, until December 31. This document is required to access workplaces, interregional transport, or even certain cultural and sporting places.