Il pentimento del principe d’Elbeuf

Portici, 1738: Prince Emmanuel-Maurice of Lorraine, after nearly thirty years, returns to his monumental residence. Beset by equally monumental debts, he intends to recover the last treasure hidden in the old villa: a statue of Calliope, muse of poetry, just one of many artifacts unearthed during his secret excavations, when, years earlier, he had discovered the ancient buried city of Herculaneum beneath the "Golden Mile"—the long road leading to Naples. His plans, however, will have to contend with the young King Charles of Bourbon, who longs to build a palace nearby.