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During the Napoleonic Empire operas set in the ancient Rome were frequent not only in France, but also in the Italian kingdoms ruled by the French. In this essay I observe how one of those works in particular – The vestal by De Jouy-Spontini – became an identifying symbol of the Neapolitan community during the reign of the Murats, also thanks to the massive government plan to valorize the site of Pompeii. Furthermore, I notice how the same opera and others indirectly derived from it – L’ultimo giorno di Pompei by Tottola and Pacini and L’esule di Roma by Gilardoni and Donizetti – maintained a prominent role in the Neapolitan cultural life even in the early years of the Restoration, becoming emblems of the new course of local politics. From a different perspective, I finally observe how the “Vestal theme” influenced Milanese spectacular production after 1815, particularly with respect to La vestale by Salvatore Viganò and Norma by Romani and Bellini, and I examine the symbolic investment to which those works were subjected even in that geopolitical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]