Pompei
The ArchaeologicalPark of Pompei
MUSEO PER TUTTICREATED AND PRODUCED BYSUPPORTED BY

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This Guide is written in high-legibility typeface Easy Reading Font.

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Project Management Carlo Riva
Graphic design and layout Paola Longobardi
Texts Veronica Cicalò, Marta Lanzini and Chiara Maria Piccoli
with the consultancy of managers and colleagues at the Archaeological Park of Pompei
Photographs Archaeological Park of Pompei Communication and Press office,Silvia Vacca, Pier Paolo Metelli and Luigi Spina, GEDEON Media Group
Final print April 2024
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The accessible guide can be downloaded from www.museopertutti.org

How to use this guideThis is the Museo per tutti guide for Pompei.
On the following pages you will find:The social narrative for visiting Pompei
Orange pages
The social narrative explains:..................... 6• how to buy your ticket• what the rules are• what to see• who can help you.

Pompei - Green pages
What is Pompei ................................... 26
The history of Pompei............................. 27

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Visiting Pompei - Blue pages
Visual agenda for the 3 paths.....................36
Visiting Pompei.................................. 40
PATH 1....................................... 41
How did Pompeiians enjoy themselves?............42
1.Amphitheatre................................ 44
2.Large Gymnasium ........................... 47
The houses of Pompeiians........................ 49
3.Praedia of Giulia Felice...................... 51
4.House of Venus in the Shell ................ 56
5.House of the Orchard....................... 61
The shops in Pompei..............................66
6.House and Thermopoliumof Vetutius Placidus............................ 68
7.Fullery of Stephanus ........................ 73
The streets in Pompei............................. 77
8.Wall inscriptions ........................... 79
PATH 2....................................... 80
The public buildings..............................81
9.Stabian Baths............................... 83
10.Forum and Temple of Jupiter............... 89
11.Sanctuary of Apollo........................ 92
12.Basilica.................................... 95

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Antiquarium......................................97
13.Red palace fresco.......................... 98
14.Funerary statue of a man wearing a toga .100
15.Fresco with Venus
on an elephant-pulled quadriga............... 101
16.Bust of Dionysus ......................... 103
17.Statue of Livia ...........................104
18.Wall inscriptions.......................... 105
19.Triclinium bed.............................108
20.Pigments.................................. 109
21.Casts .................................... 111
PATH 3...................................... 113
22.House of the Vettii........................ 114
23.Necropolis................................ 118
24.Villa of the Mysteries..................... 120

The map of Pompei can be downloaded fromwww.museopertutti.org
and www.pompeiisites.org websites.

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The social narrative for visiting Pompei

6

My name is .....................................................
I’m going to Pompei
on..............................................................
at ..............................................................

7

How do I get to Pompei?

Bus

Car

Train

Circumvesuviana

On foot8

1. Introduction

This guide is made to prepare your visit of the ancient city of Pompei.
Ancient means of a very very long time ago.
In this guide you will find:• how to buy your ticket• what the rules are• what to see• who can help you.

9

2. What you can do inside Pompei
In Pompei you can:• Walk along the ancient streets.

Ancient means of a very long time ago.
• Look at and visit ancient houses

and buildings.
• Look at the ancient shops.
• Look at the writings made on some walls.
• Look at the statues.
• Visit the Antiquarium.

The Antiquarium is the museum of Pompei.
A museum is a place where artworks or importantand beautiful objects are kept, so that everybody
can watch and study them.
Pompei is very big and there are a lot of things to see.
We have thought of 3 different visit paths for you.
You can choose to make one of the 3 paths only, or even all the 3 paths.
On the blue pages of this guide you will find the explanation
for the 3 paths.
10

3. The entrances
Pompei has 3 entrances:• Porta Marina

in Via Villa dei Misteri• Piazza Esedra

in Piazza Porta Marina Inferiore• Piazza Anfiteatro

in Piazza Immacolata.

The path of this guide starts from Piazza Anfiteatro.
We suggest you to take the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance
because is the closest one to where the path starts.
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4. The ticket office
To visit Pompei you can:• Buy your ticket at home online athttps://www.ticketone.it/en/artist/scavi-pompei/

Print your ticket and bring it with you.
Show it to the person with a badge
near the ticket office.

12• Buy your ticket at the ticket office near the entranceof Piazza Anfiteatro.

At the ticket office you will see this sign

It means that in this place they’ve thought of you.
Here, you can ask all the questions you need to, and ask for help.
When you’re at the ticket office,queue up behind the people who arrived before you.

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When nobody is in front of you
in the queue, go to the counterand ask for your ticket.
Here there might be a lot of people
and it can be very noisy.

14

To enter Pompei
you must go through security checks.
Near the entrances
there are some metal detectors
and some people who check bags
and backpacks.
You must show your backpack
or bag to the person who is checking.
The metal detector is needed to check
if someone is carrying weapons
or metal objects.
Before passing through the metal detector take off your backpack
or bag and all the metal objects you’re wearing, like:• belt• watch• hair pins
• mobile phone.

You can put these things in a box near the metal detector.
After passing through the metal detector, you can pick up your things.
If you don’t take these things off, the metal detector is going to ring.
If the metal detector rings, don’t get worried.
The person who checks bags and backpacks is going to help you.

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5. The cloakroom

When you visit Pompei you must leave:• backpacks and very large bags
• suitcases

at the cloakroom.
The cloackroom is near the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance.
Ask the people with a badge how to use the cloakroom.

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6. The rules

When you are inside Pompei, you must:• Walk slowly.
• Take pictures without flash.
• Throw wastepaper and litter in the waste bins.
• Eat only inside the bar near the Forumor on the terrace
near the Casina dell’Aquila.
• Drink when you’re outof the ancient houses.
Ancient means of a very long time ago.
You must not:• Bring backpacks and large suitcases with you.
• Bring umbrellas with you.
• Touch the frescoes, the statues and the ancient things.

A fresco is a painting made on a wall.
• Climb and jump on walls, fountains and parts of the ancient houses.

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7. Tips for visiting Pompei

The best time to visit Pompei is in the less hot months:
SpringAutumn• April• September• May• October• JuneWear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Bring a raincoat with you in case of rain.
Bring a bottle of water with you.

In Pompei you should pay attention to the streets
because they’re made of stone,
and you might slip on it.
Here there are many people
and it might be very noisy.
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8. Who can help you?

In Pompei there are many people who can help you.
Those people wear a badge.
You can ask them questions and ask for any information you need.
All these people are happy that you visit Pompei.

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9. The toilets

The toilets are:• Near Piazza Anfiteatro entrance.
• Near Piazza Esedra entrance.
• Near Porta Marina entrance.
• Near the theatres.

You fine the theatres after the entrance of Piazza Esedra.
• In the Casina dell’Aquila.

You will find some steps if you go to those bathrooms.
The Casina dell’Aquila is a building that was built a short time ago
in the middle of Pompei.
• Inside the Antiquarium.

Ask the people with a badge how to get to the toilets.
We suggest you go to the bathroom before your visit.

2010. Where can you rest and eat?

Behind the Forum there is a little shop with a bar
where you can buy some food and drinks.
The Forum was the most important square in Pompei.
There might be a lot of people and you might hear their voices.
You might also hear the noise of glasses and dishes.
You might also smell coffee and food.

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In pompei there aremany ancient fountains
with drinkable water.
Drinkable water is the water
you can drink.

If you’re tired, you can stopand take a breakat the Casina dell’Aquila.
You can see
the whole ancient cityfrom this place.
Ancient meansof a very long time ago.

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11. The shops
In Pompei there are 3 shops.

• One is behind Piazza Esedra

ticket office.

• One is inside the Antiquarium.

• One is near Piazza Anfiteatro

ticket office.

Here, you can buy books and objects that help you
remember your visit of Pompei.
2312. The exits
Pompei has many exits.
You can go out by Piazza Esedra exit.
This exit is at the end of path 1.
If you’re tired, go out at Piazza Esedra.
You can come back as many times
as you like to finish your visit and see:• Stabian Baths• Forum and Temple of Jupiter• Sanctuary of Apollo• Basilica• Antiquarium.

Another exit is Porta Marina.
If you want to go through path 1
and path 2 we prepared for you,go out at the Porta Marina exit.

If you left your backpack or bag at the cloakroom, remember to go pick
it up at Piazza Anfiteatro entrance.
If you enjoyed your visit, come back whenever you like.
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Pompei25

What is Pompei?
Pompei is part of a large Archaeological Park.
An archaeological park is a place where you can find object,parts of houses and buildings that are still there after a long
and a very long time.
This park is called Archaeological Park of Pompei
because Pompei is the most important ancient city
inside the Archaeological Park.
Other ancient cities, buildings and museums
make part of this Archaeological Park.
You can see them in the images below.
A museum is a place where artworks or important and beautiful objects
are kept, so that everybody can watch and study them.

Boscoreale

Oplontis

Reggia of Quisisana
Stabiae			
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Polverificio Borbonico
of Scafati

The history of Pompei

Where the Archaeological Park of Pompei is located today, a very longtime ago there was the ancient city of Pompei.
Ancient means of a very long time ago.
Those who lived in Pompei were called Pompeiians.
Pompeiians were a people.
They call people a group of persons who live together in a country.
Every people have their own ways of speaking,staying together, cooking and celebrating.
Pompeiians built the city near Sarno river and the Vesuvius volcano.
A volcano is a crack in the ground.
A crack is a very large and deep hole.

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The city of Pompei was very rich because:• There was a port on Sarno river nearby.

A port is the place where you put your boat when you’re not using it.
• The ground near the Vesuvius was very good and made plants

grow very well, so there was a lot of food to eat and sell.
After some time, Romans became heads of Pompei.
Romans were the people from Rome,the strongest city in central Italy.
Romans made Pompei even more beautiful
and important than before.
After some time, in year 62,
there was a very strong earthquake in Pompei.
During the earthquake many houses collapsed
and other houses were damaged.
After that very strong earthquake,
Pompeiians started fixing the collapsed houses
and building some new ones.
In year 79, the Vesuvius erupted
and the city of Pompei was destroyed.

Find out how the Vesuvius
erupted on page 31

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The eruption of Vesuvius covered and hid the city with lapilli
and a lot of ash that went out and fell from the volcano.
Lapilli are very light stones.
Ash is the grey powder left after something has burnt.
For a very long time people didn’t know
where the ancient city of Pompei was.
After a very very long time:• A group of persons built the new city of Pompei.

People still live in the new city of Pompei,that is near the Archaeological Park of Pompei.
• Some archaeologists started looking

for the ancient city of Pompei and started digging.
The archaeologists found the remainsof the ancient city underground.
For example, the archaeologists found streets,

Find out who arehouses and shops.

the archaologists
on page 33

The archaeologists started fixing
and adjusting all the things they were finding.
Thanks to those archaeologists, today many people can comeand see how the ancient city of Pompei was.

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A very very long time ago
The city of Pompei is built
near the Sarno river.

Romans became heads ofPompei.

An earthquake destroys

Year 62

many houses in Pompei.

The Vesuvius erupts
and destroys the whole city
Year 79

of Pompei.

A group of persons builds
the new city of Pompei.
This city is still there.
The archaeologists start
looking for the ancient cityof Pompei. Pompei becomesToday

an archaeological park.
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How did the Vesuvius erupt?
Near Pompei there is a big volcano called Vesuvius.
A volcano is a big crack in the ground.
A crack is a very large and deep hole.
Inside a volcano there is the magma,
a melted and very very hot stone.
Melted means liquid.
In year 79 the Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the city of Pompei.
A volcano erupts when the magma becomes very very hot
and goes out of the volcano crater.
A crater is a big hole on the top of the volcano.
When the magma goes out of the volcano
is called lava.
When the volcano is erupting you can see:A lot of smoke.
The lava pouring down the volcano.
Ash
Ash is the powder left
after something has burnt.

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During the eruption some very hot stone pieces can fly outof the volcano.
Those stone pieces can be small and light or big and heavy.
The light stones are called lapilli.
A volcano eruption can be very dangerous because:• the smoke that comes out of the volcano

makes people breathe badly• the lava and the stone pieces that come out of the volcano candestroy and burn trees, plants and nearby cities.
In fact, when the lava goes out of the volcano burns all thethings it touches.
Sometimes, the stone pieces are really many and completely cover
the cities they fall on.
Sometime after the eruption, the lava gets coldand becomes as hard as a stone.
During the eruption of Vesuvius of year 79,
the lava that came out of the volcano didn’t arrive up to Pompei.
The city was covered and destroyed by the ash
and the lapilli fell from the volcano.
After year 79, the Vesuvius erupted many more times
but never in such a hard way.
Today 80 years have passed fromthe last eruption of Vesuvius.

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Who are the archaeologists?

The archaeologists study how people lived
a very very long time ago.
For example, archaeologists study how Pompeiians lived.
To understand it, archaeologists look for and study
all the things of Pompeiians:• the objects• the houses and the monuments• the city and the streets• the tombs.

Very often archaeologists need to dig the groundto find all those things because they have been
covered by earth over the years.
The objects the archaeologists find during their
diggings are called findings.
After finding them, the archaeologists bring the findings
to museums.

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The findings are restored.
To restore means to clean and fix an object of a long time agothat was damaged.
Once the findings are fixed, they put themin the museum showcases so that everybody can see them.
The archaeologists try to understandwhat the use of the findings was, but also:• who had made them
• who used them
• when they were used.

In this way archaeologists can tell you about the lives of people
who lived a very very long time ago.

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Visiting Pompei

35

Visual agenda for the 3 paths
PATH 1
1.Amphitheatre.
Here Pompeiians used to watch
games, races and combats.
This was the largest building in
town.
2.Large Gymnasium.
Here the young Pompeiians didn’t
practice gym only.
The young used to learn the rulesof the city from their teachers andbecame good men.
3.Praedia of Giulia Felice.
This was the big houseof Giulia Felice.
This house has many rooms
and a very beautiful garden.
4.House of Venus in the Shell.
This was the houseof a very important family.
Here you can see many frescoes.
In one on the frescoes
the goddess Venus is painted
while lying in a shell.
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5.House of the Orchard.
In this house you can see 2 very
beautiful frescoes.
In these frescoes many trees
with fruits are painted.

6.Thermopoliumand House of Vetutius Placidus.
A thermopolium was a shop where
they used to sell cooked food.

7.Fullery of Stephanus.
A fullery was a laundry.
Here fabric used to be dyed andwashed to make clothes.

8.Wall inscriptions.
On many walls of the buildings
in Pompei you can see many
writings: sentences of love,
sentences of hatred and jokes.

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PATH 2
9.Stabian Baths.
In this building Pompeiians
used to take hot, warm or coldbaths, and met their friends.
10.Forum and Temple of Jupiter.
The Forum is a big square.
Here Pompeiians met to talk about
the problems of the cityand to pray god Jupiter.
11.Sanctuary of Apollo.
Here people came to pray
god Apollo.
12.Basilica.
Here Pompeiians gathered to talkand take decisions about
the important things of the city.

13-21.Antiquarium.
This is the museum where you cansee many precious and delicate
objects found in Pompei.

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PATH 3
22.House of the Vettii.
This was the house of a very richfamily.
Here you can see many frescoes
and a very beautiful garden.
23.Necropolis.
This was one of Pompei cemeteries.
Here you can see the tombsof the people who diedin Pompei a very very long time ago.

24.Villa of the Mysteries.
This is one of the most famousand beautiful houses in Pompei.
Here you can see a very beautiful
and large fresco.

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Visiting Pompei
Visiting Pompei you can see how the city was likea very very long time ago.
The archaeologists found many things of Pompei under the ground.
For example, the archaeologists found:• houses• streets• shops• squares• objects and artworks.

While walking in the streets of Pompei
you can see the remains of the things the archaeologists found.
By means of the 3 paths we tell you:• on some pages, how the inhabitants of Pompei lived.

For example, we explain to you how they enjoyed themselves,
how were their houses and shops like.
• On other pages, we explain to you what the archaeologists foundhere in Pompei.

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PATH 1
Here you can see:
• Amphitheatre• Large Gymnasium• Praedia of Giulia Felice• House of Venus in the Shell• House of the Orchard• Thermopolium and House of Vetutius Placidus• Fullery of Stephanus• Wall inscriptions

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How did Pompeiians enjoy themselves?
The inhabitants of Pompei liked to enjoy themselves very much.
To enjoy themselves they played.
The plays they liked best were:• throwing knucklebones.

Knucklebones were little animal bones
the players threw as they do today with dice.
• playing with nuts.

The players put nuts one on top of another.
The winners were those who didn’t let the nut
tower collapse.
Pompeiians enjoyed themselves also watching
the gladiators fights

Find out whatin the Amphitheatre.

the Amphitheatre
is on page 44

Pompeiians used to go to the theatre.
A theatre is a place where there are many shows with playing actors.
In Pompei there were 2 theatres:• the Large Theatre,

where many people could enter• the Small Theatre

where few people could enter.

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Pompeiians liked to go to the baths very much.
At the baths Pompeiians usually:• took hot and cold baths• did gymnastics• swam in the swimming pool
• relaxed• met friends.
Find out what

The Stabian Baths
were the most important baths in Pompei.

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the Stabian Baths
were on page 83

1.Amphitheatre

This is the Amphitheatre of Pompei.
The Amphitheatre is a building whey they used to have:• races and games• shows and combats.

This Amphitheatre was built a very very long time ago
and it’s the largest building in the whole city.
People paid a ticket to watch shows and games,
as we do today when we go to the cinema.
Also, some people from nearby towns
used to come to this Amphitheatre because it was very famous.
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This Amphitheatre has an oval shape.
From outside you can see:• the walls made with many arches• staircases to climb

to the higher floor.
In the middle of the Amphitheatre
there is the arena.
The arena is the space where they use
to have the shows and the games.
All around the arena there are steps
where people could sit
and watch the shows and the games.
Those steps are very big.
The nicest places where to watch
the shows and the games were those near
the arena because people could see betterfrom that point.
Here the richest and most important
people used to sit because those were
the places that costed a lot of money.
The places on top were the farthest from the arena.
From those places people couldn’t see well what happened in the arena.
Here the less rich people used to take placebecause those places costed little money.
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In this Amphitheatre Pompeiians
came to see the fights
of gladiators.
Gladiators were people who fighted.
Gladiators could fight with othergladiators or with fierce animals.
Fierce animals are very strong
animals like lions and tigers.
Pompeiians liked those games very much and the best gladiators
were as famous as football players or actors today.
Pompeiians cheered the gladiators they liked best as we dowith football teams today.
A story tells that during a gladiators’ fight Pompeiians argued
with some people of a nearby city.
All the people inside the Amphitheatre got angry and started arguing.
The emperor got so angry that he kept the Amphitheatre of Pompei
closed for a long time.
The emperor is like a king.

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2.Large GymnasiumThis was the gymnasium of Pompei.
They call it Large Gymnasium

Find out what

because it was the largest

the Amphitheatre

and most important gymnasium in the city.
The Large Gymnasium is near the Amphitheatre.
A very very long time ago
people didn’t practice gym only at the gymnasium.
Many young people went to the gym to:• learn the rules of the city
• grow up and become good men.
47

is on page 44

La Palestra Grande ha la forma di un rettangolo.
Da fuori vedi le alte mura.
Nelle mura si aprono 10 grandi porte
per entrare dentro la Palestra.
Quando entri nella Palestra vedi un grande cortile.
Su tre lati del cortile ci sono dei lunghi porticati
fatti con colonne.
Un porticato è come un corridoio aperto su un lato.
Quando cammini sotto un porticato ti proteggi dalla pioggia
o dal sole e puoi vedere il cortile.

I giovani che venivano qui
hanno fatto delle scritte graffite
sui muri e sulle colonne.
Moltissimo tempo fa
per fare un graffito
le persone usavano una punta
di metallo che grattava il muro.
Puoi vedere le scritte graffite
ancora oggi.

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The houses of Pompeiians
There were many houses in Pompei.
The houses of Pompei were called domus.
The domus of the rich were very big and beautiful.
They could enter their domus by the main entrance.
They went through a corridor and arrived into the atrium.
The atrium was a large courtyard.
From this large courtyard they could go:• into the rooms.

The rooms were called cubicula.
• into the dining room.

The dining room was called triclinium.
In the middle of the large courtyard there was a tub.
That tub was called impluvium.
The impluvium was the tub used to collect rainwater.
For example, Pompeiians used rainwater
to wash themselves or their clothes.
The tablinium also opened on that courtyard.
The tablinium was the room where they had their friends over.
In the houses there was a big garden also, called peristilium.
The peristilium was a garden with columns all around it.

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Hre you can see the drawing of a house of Pompei. The roof has been
removed to let you see how it was made inside.
Try to find the rooms of the house in the drawing.

Tablinium
Impluvium
Peristilium

AtriumCubicula
Main entrance
Triclinium

503.Praedia of Giulia Felice

This big house is called Praedia of Giulia Felice.
Praedia is a Latin word meaning property.
Latin is the language spoken by the people in Pompei
a very very long time ago.
Properties are all the things someone has, such as houses,
palaces, and gardens.

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A very very long time ago there was written on a wall of the buildingthat it was the palace of Giulia Felice.
Today that writing is not there anymore
because it was taken off the wall.
The writing said that Giulia Felice rented some parts of her big house.
To rent means to have someone live in your own house.
To live in Giulia Felice’s house people had to give her some money.
The palace of Giulia Felice was very big.
The woman had decided to rent some parts of her palace
to get a lot of money.
She had decided to rent her palace because the earthquake
had destroyed many houses a short time before.
For this reason, many people in Pompei were looking for a houseto live in.

52This palace was so big because they put together smaller palaces
that had been built a long time before.
Those smaller palaces were:• a big house• a big garden with small houses all around• some baths.

Baths were the places where Pompeiians took hot and cold baths andmet their friends.
• a large and very beautiful park.

house

garden

baths

park
53

To make her palace even more beautiful
Giulia Felice had decided to build inside it also:• A very beautiful porch with some columns made of a stone called

marble.
A porch is like a corridor open on one side.
When you walk under a porch you protect yourself from rain or fromsun and you can see the courtyard.
Under the porch you can see frescoes on the walls.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.
You can’t see those frescoes very well because they are damaged.

54• A garden with a channel full of water.

A channel is a long ditch that has been dug in the ground.
It was cooler near the channel full of water.

• Some small apartments for the friends that would come over.
55

4.House of Venus in the Shell

This was the House of Venus in the Shell.
In this house a very important family used to live.
The most important part of this house was the peristilium.
The peristilium was a garden with some columns all around.
Around the garden there are some rooms with very beautiful frescoes.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.

56

On the wall across the peristilium there is a painting of goddess Venus.
A goddess has the body of a woman and is very powerful.
A long time ago people believed that for all the things
there was a god or a goddess that could help them.
A god helped men:• go hunting• look better• be lucky• grow plants• win wars.

Venus was the goddess of beauty and love,and made people fall in love.
Venus protected Pompei.

57

This is the House of Venus in a Shellbecause in the fresco Venus is naked and is lying inside a shell.

Near Venus there are two cupids.
Cupids are like little angels.

Venus wears jewels on her:• head• neck• wrists• ankles.

58You can also see a painted garden
with plants and animals
from faraway countries.
On the right you can see
some little birds drinking waterfrom a fountain.

59

On the left you can see the painting of a statue of god Mars.
Mars was the god of war, and helped people win it.
Mars has a shield and a spear.
A shield is an object used to protect the body from enemies’ blows.
A spear is a long stick with a metal tip.

60

5.House of the Orchard

This was the House of the Orchard.
Today we don’t know who lived in this house,
but we know they were important people.
In fact, the house is on Via dell’Abbondanza,
the most important street in Pompei.
In this house you can see 2 very beautiful frescoes.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.
Usually, frescoes were in the rooms where all the guests could enter,so that everyone could see them.
On the contrary, those 2 frescoes were in the bedrooms
where only the persons who lived in that house could go.
The bedrooms were called cubicula.

61

In one of the rooms of house you can see the first fresco.
In the fresco you can see a big garden.

In that garden there are:• Many different birds flying in the sky.

You can see big or small, black or white birds.
62

• Many different plants with fruits.

The painter who made this fresco was very good at doing it,
because the plants look like they are real.
If you get closer to the fresco you can spot the plants and the fruits.
There are:•a lemon plant•an arbutus plant.

63

In another room of the house you can see another fresco.
In that fresco you can see 3 big trees.

64

In the middle
there is the biggest of the 3 trees,a fig tree.
A fig tree is the tree
where figs grow.

If you get closer to the fresco
you can see:• some figs

• some birds• a snake.

65

The shops in Pompei
Pompeiians went to shops or to the market to buy:
• food, such as bread, fish and cheese• fabric to make clothes.

The market was held once a week in the Forum.
On the other days of the week
Pompeiians used to go to shops.
In Pompei there were as many shops
as in nowadays cities.

Find out what
the Forum is
on page 89

In Pompei there were:• The thermopolium.

Thermopolium was how, in Pompei,
they called the bars where hot drinks and foodwere sold.
Pompeiians like to eat food on the street very much,
like the food they bought in those bars, as we do todaywith sandwiches and pizza.
• The fullery.

A fullery wash the laundry of a very long time ago.
A laundry is the place were clothes and fabric
are washed.

66• The caupona.

Caupona was how, in Pompei,
they called the places where they could eat
and sleep also.
• The pistrinum.

The pistrinum was the shop where bread was sold.
Pompeiians used to buy round bread loafs
that had been cut before.
On each bread loaf a drawing told you
the name of the bakery that had made it.

676.Thermopolium and House of Vetutius Placidus

Thermopolium was how, in Pompei, they called the bars
where hot drinks and food were sold.
This was the termopolium of a man called Vetutius Placidus.
The thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus opens on Via dell’Abbondanza.
Pompeiians liked to eat food on the street very much,
like the food they bought in those bars,
as we do today with sandwiches and pizza.

68

When you look at this Thermopolium you see a large brick counter.
That counter has been restored because it had been damagedby the eruption of the Vesuvius.
To restore means to clean
and fix an object, a building or a room

Find out howof a long time ago that was damaged.

the Vesuvius

The archaeologists had it restored

erupted on

to let you understand what it was like.

page 31

On the counter there are some big round holes.
Under those holes there were the jars
where they put food.
A jar is a very big vase.
They put food inside the jars to keep it hot after cooking it.
69

Mercurius

Lares

Genius ancestor

Lares

BacchusOn the wall across the room you can see a fresco.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.
In that fresco you see:• the Lares, that is the gods who protected the house• the Genius ancestor of Vetutius Placidus.

The Genius ancestor is a relative who died a long time before andprotects a person• Mercurius.

Mercurius was the god who protected traders, that is the persons who
sell goods.
• Bacchus.

Bacchus was the god of wine.
70

The gods have been painted inside a house.
That house is called edicola.
An edicola is a very little house.
Inside the edicola they put statues
or drawings of the gods.
That edicola has a blue roofand 2 white columns.

Perhaps the other walls of the thermopolium were painted too.
On the left you can see other parts of paintings.
Behind the thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus
there are some parts of his house that have remained up to now.
The house was very big and beautiful.
Such a beautiful and elegant house lets you understandthat Vetutius Placidus was very rich.

71

What did archaeologists find out?
While the archaeologists were digging inside the thermopolium,
they found a lot of gold coins in one of the jars
under the counter.
The archaeologists think that those coins were the money earned
by Vetutius Placidus the day the Vesuvius erupted.
Perhaps Vetutius Placidus had hidden the money in the jar
thinking he would go back to get it after running away.
Inside the jar there were so many gold coinsthat the archaeologists think that who owned a thermopolium
was very rich.

72

7.The Fullery of Stephanus

Here you can see a fullery.
A fullery was the laundry of a very long time ago.
A laundry is the place where they wash clothes and fabric.
This fullery was the one of a man called Stephanus.
Stephanus is a Latin name,while today in English we use Stephan.
Latin is the language spoken by the people in Pompei
a very long time ago.
To open his fullery, Stephanus used the rooms of a big housethat was already there.

73

In the middle of the first room you see a big red tub.
Before becoming a fullery, this was the impluvium.
The impluvium was the tub where rainwater was collected.
When Stephanus made his fullery he used the impluvium
as a tub to wash fabric.
The house roof became the place where wet fabric could be put to dry.
To get to the roof they used a wooden ladder that isn’t there anymore.

74

Other rooms of the house were used
to wash clothes and fabric.
First, fabric was soaked in oval tubs.
To clean fabric and make it stronger and tougher,
they used pee of animals and persons to wash it.
Then they rinsed with clean water in the 3 tubs
you can see in the room.
Following the path of the visit you can see other rooms,
like the kitchen where Stephanus used to eat.

75

What did archaeologists find out?

The coinsof Stephanus

While archaeologists were digging the fullery to clean it from ash
and lapilli, they found the skeleton of a man near the entrance.
A skeleton is the set of bones of someone who died a long time
ago that we can still see today.
That man had a bag full of gold coins.
The archaeologists thought the man was Stephanus,
the owner of the fullery.
We know Stephanus was the owner of the fullery because his nameis written on a wall before the entrance.

76

The streets of Pompei

There were many streets in Pompei.
The most important street was called decumanus maximus.
The floor of the streets was made of big stones.
Under the street ran the water pipes.
In Pompei the streets were very big because horses
and chariots needed to pass through them.
The chariots had 4 wheels
and were pulled by horses.
Pompeiians used chariots
to go to faraway places
or to carry heavy things.
People used to walk on the sidewalks.

77

To cross the street from one sidewalk to the other,
Pompeiians used the highest stones you see in the photo.
Those stones were like pedestrian crossings.
The streets you’re using today are the real onesof the ancient city of Pompei.

78

8.Wall inscriptions

On the walls and columns along the streets
you can see many wall inscriptions.
Wall inscriptions are writings made on a wall.
Inscriptions were painted on the walls with a brush or made as graffiti
with a tip.
Pompeiians used to write many things on the building walls.
For example, Pompeiians wrote:• sentences of love• sentences of hatred• shopping lists• sentences to remember what to do• their name or the name of someone famous• funny sentences or jokes.
79PATH 2
If you feel like, you can continue your path and see:• Stabian Baths• Forum and Temple of Jupiter• Sanctuary of Apollo• Basilica• Antiquarium

If you are tired, you can take the Piazza Esedra exit
and come back again to finish the visit.

80

The public buildings

In the city of Pompei there were many public buildings.
Public buildings are the places where everyone can enter.
In those buildings Pompeiians:• relaxed• prayed• met each other• enjoyed themselves• bought things.

To relax and be quiet
the inhabitants of Pompei
used to go to the baths.
81

To pray to the gods, the inhabitants of Pompei
used to go to the sanctuary and the temple.
In the sanctuary and the temple
there were the statues of the gods.
Pompeiians prayed in front of the statues of the gods.
When Pompeiians wanted to meet each other,
they used to go to the square called forum.
In the forum there was a big building called basilica.
The basilica could contain many people.
To buy things Pompeiians
used to go to the market.
At the market they could find:• The granaries where vegetables and fruit were sold
• The macellum where meat and fish were sold.

All Pompeiians went to those public buildings
because they were open to everyone.

82

9.Stabian Baths

The Baths were the place where Pompeiians:• took hot and cold baths• went to the gym• went for a swim
• relaxed• met friends.

Those baths were called Stabian because
they were between the Via Stabiana and Via dell’Abbondanza.
Those were the most important baths in Pompei.

83

At the baths they could find:• tubs with hot and cold water• gyms• swimming pools• big halls• gardens.

Men and women used to go to different rooms at the Baths.
The most important entrance for Stabian Baths
is in Via dell’Abbondanza.
From that entrance they could get into a large garden
where men did gymnastics.

This is the natatio.
A natatio is an outdoor
swimming pool.
On the walls there werevery beautiful frescoes.
A fresco is a painting
made on a wall.
Today you can’t see
the frescos very wellbecause they were damaged.

84This is the porch that leads to the part of the Baths used by men only.
A porch is like a corridor open on one side.
When you walk under a porch you protect yourself from rainor from sun and you can see the courtyard.

This was the dressing room,that is the room where people left their clothes.
You can see some niches on the walls, where they had wooden lockers.
A niche is a hole made in a wall to put something inside.
85

People took a bath going into the cold water tub first,
then in the warm water tub and then in the hot water tub.
This is the frigidarium,
the room where people
took cold water baths.
The frigidarium
was a round room
and around the swimming pool
there is a bench
where they could sit down.
On the walls there were paintings of plants and flowers.
The ceiling of the room is a dome,
therefore is round.
They painted it in blue like a sky
with many stars.
The people who made this room
wanted it to be like a garden
so that here men could restand be quiet.
This is the first room
where people could take a bath.

86Afterwards they went to the tepidarium,
the room where people could take a bath in warm water.
Water is warm when it’s not too hot nor too cold.
This is a rectangular room.
In the picture you can see many little bricks.
On top of the little bricks there was another floor.
Under that floor they had some hot steam pass by to keep rooms
and tub water warm.
Steam is the hot air that goes up when water is boiling.
At the baths they made hot vapor by boiling a lot of waterin a big oven.
The hot steam was pushed into large pipes that ran under the floor
to warm up the rooms.

87

Near the oven where water boiled
there was the calidarium,
the room where people took baths
in hot water.
This was the last room
where they could take a bath.
Near the part for men
there was the one for women.
For women also there were:• the dressing room

where to leave clothes•the frigidarium

where to take cold water baths• the tepidarium

where to take warm water baths• the calidarium

where to take hot water baths.
The rooms for women are smaller
and less decorated
than the ones for men:in fact, on the walls
there are no paintings.

8810.Forum and Temple of Jupiter

The Forum was the most important square in Pompei.
You can see many columns around the square.
People from Pompei used to go to the Forum:• to talk• to pray to gods
• to have religious celebrations• to decide important things for the city of Pompei.

Around the square there were many buildings:• the Temple of Jupiter• the Macellum• the Granaries• some shops.
89This is the Temple of Jupiter.
Here people prayed to god Jupiter.
Jupiter was the father of all the other gods.
A god has the body of a man and is very powerful.
A long time ago people believed that for all the things there was a god
or a goddess that could
help them.
A god helped men:• go hunting• look better• be lucky• grow plants• win wars.

A very long time ago the Temple was very big
and had a triangular roof.
Today you can only see a large staircase with six columns on it.
90On the right sideof the Temple of Jupiterthere is the Macellum.
This was the market for meatand fish.
You can see a very high wall
enclosing the Macellum.

On the left sideof the Temple of Jupiterthere are the Granaries.
This was the market for fruitand vegetables.
Today archaeologists
use the Granaries to keep
the objects found in Pompei.

Here were some shops.

91

11.Sanctuary of Apollo

If you go through the Forum and follow along Via dell’Abbondanza,
you get to the Sanctuary of Apollo.
The Sanctuary was the place where people prayed.
Apollo was the god of sun and made the sun rise every morning.

92

The sanctuary was very big and elegant
because Apollo was a very important god for Pompeiians.
Today you see a large space with columns on the rightand on the left.
In the middle there is the altar.
An altar is like a table were the priests said their prayers to Apollo.
Behind the altar you can see the staircase that leads to the sanctuary.
Today there are 2 columns and some pieces of 4 more columns.
The rest of the temple doesn’t exist anymore.
Across that room there was the statue of Apollo.

93Here people used to celebrate Apollo and his sister Diana.
Diana was the goddess of hunting
and helped men hunt animals.
Many children from Pompei went to those celebrations too.

Today you can see the statues of Apollo and Diana
between the columns.

94

12.Basilica

This is the Basilica.
The Basilica was the most importantand elegant building in the Forum.
Here people used to meet to:• decide important things for the city
• decide the rules of the city
• decide how to punish the people who didn’t respect the rules.

95When you enter the Basilica you see two rows of columns:
one on the right and one on the left.
Today you can’t see the roof of the Basilica anymore
because it collapsed.
A very long time ago there were many statues inside the building.
Those statues made the Basilica very beautiful and elegant.

96

Antiquarium

The Antiquarium is a big museum.
This museum was built a short time ago.
A museum is a place where they keep artworks and importantand beautiful objects so that everybody can look at and study them.
Inside the Antiquarium there are many rooms.
In the rooms of the Antiquarium you can see many objectsof a very very long time ago.
Those objects come from the city of Pompei.

97

13.Red palace fresco

This is a fresco.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.
A long time ago this was the wall of a house.
Now that house is not there anymore,
and they brought the fresco into the Antiquarium.

98

In this fresco you can see a red palace divided into 2 floors.
On the ground floor you can see:• 4 yellow columns• 4 windows• 2 masks.

A mask is a thing you put over your face
to make it look different.
• In the middle you can see the head of a woman.

On floor 1 you can see:• 2 statues representing 2 women• 2 dishes hanging from the ceiling.

The 2 dishes have 2 menwith wings on them.
• 2 women on a chariot with horses

near the feet of the 2 statues.
Behind the red palace you can see the blue sky.
In the middle of the blue sky
you can see a column with 2 vases on top.
Around one of the vases there is a snake.
On that column you can see:• a shield• a helm.

99

14.Funerary statue of a man wearing a toga
This statue represents
a man wearing a toga.
A toga is the suit thatpeople from Pompei useda very very long time ago.
The man has a very serious face.
This statue was placed on a tomband represents the man buriedin the tomb.
Only very important people
had a statue over their tombs.
Therefore, this man was very important.

100

15.Fresco with Venus
on an elephant-pulled quadriga

This is a fresco.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.
A long time ago this fresco was on a wall along the street.
Now that wall isn’t there anymore
and the fresco was put inside the Antiquarium.
In this fresco you can see goddess Venus.

101

Venus was the goddess of beauty and loveand made people fall in love.
Goddess Venus is standing on a quadriga.
A quadriga is like a chariot.
In front of the chariot there are 4 elephants pulling the chariot.
Venus has:
• a golden crown on her head• a blue cloak with some stars on it• a scepter in her hand.

A scepter is a stick that important persons
like kings hold in their hands• an olive branch.

Near Venus there is a cupid
handing a crown to Venus.
On the right and on the left
there are 2 more cupids
holding a crown and a palm branch.
Cupids are like little angels.
In this fresco goddess Venus has many objects
that powerful people like kings and queens have.
Venus was very important for the city of Pompei
and protected its inhabitants.
102

16.Bust of Dionysus
This statue is called
Bust of Dionysus.
A bust is a statue that shows
only a person’s head and shoulders.
This bust represent god Dionysus.
God Dionysus was the god of wine.
This statue is made of bronze.
Bronze is a metal that can be given
any shape when it's hot.

Dionysus has curly hair.
Over his hair Dionysus
has some flowers.
This statue is green and brown
because is very ancient,and water and earth damaged it.

103

17.Statue of Livia
This statue represents Livia.
Livia was the wifeof emperor Augustus.
An emperor is like a king.
Livia is standing and she’s dressed
like a very important woman.
Livia has:
• a very long dress• a cloak.

Livia has a very quiet
and serious face.

104

18.Wall inscriptions
This is a piece of a wall.
A long time ago
it was the wall of a shopin the city.
If you look carefully
you can see:• a drawing• some wall inscriptions.

Wall inscriptions
are writings made on a wall.
Inscriptions were painted
on a wall with a brushor made as graffiti with a tip.

105

In the drawing you can see Mercury getting out of a temple
with a stick and 2 snakes in his hands.
Mercury was the god of money.

106

Above Mercury you can see some writings.
Those writings are in Latin.
Latin is the language spoken by the people in Pompei
a very very long time ago.
They are 2 electoral writings.
Electoral writings are made when there are elections.
During the elections people choose who can rule the city.
Those writings are about some people who wanted to rule the city.

107

19.Triclinium bed

The triclinium bed is the bed placed in the triclinium.
The triclinium was the room where Pompeiians used to eat.
The bed has:• some parts made of wood.

The brown parts are made of wood.
Those parts have been made a short time ago.
• some parts made of bronze.

Bronze is a metal that can be given
any shape when it’s hot.
The grey parts are made of bronze
and they are ancient.
The parts made of bronze are decorated.
An object is decorated when it’s covered with drawings.
108

20.Pigments

These are the pigments.
A pigment is a coloured powder.
In this showcase you can see many pigments of different colours.
You can see:• the pink pigment• the yellow pigment• the blue pigment.

When you mix the pigment with water and with a special glue,
a colour is born.
The inhabitants of Pompei used the colours
to make paintings or frescoes.
A fresco is a painting made on a wall.

109

When the Vesuvius erupted,
painters were restoring the houses of Pompei.
To restore means to clean

Find out how

and fix an object, a building or a room of a long time ago

the Vesuviusthat was damaged.

eruptedThe painters were restoring the houses of Pompei

on page 31

because there had been an earthquake a short time before.
The painters left their small cups with pigmentson the house floors to run away.
The ash of the eruption covered everything.
After a long time archaeologists found the small cups with pigments.

The most beautiful colour is Egyptian blue.
They call it like this because it was invented in Egypt.
Egypt is a country faraway from Italy.

11021.Casts

In the year 79 the ash of volcano Vesuvius covered the whole city
and all the inhabitants of Pompei.
The inhabitants of Pompei died while doing their daily things.
When the archaeologists started digging the city of Pompei,
they found some holes.
The archaeologists understood that before then in those holes
there were the dead bodies of the inhabitants of Pompei.
Sometime after people die, their bodies become dust
and only some pieces of bones remain.

111

For this reason there wasn’t anything more inside the holes
found by the archaeologists.
The archaeologists put some liquid plaster in the holes
and waited until it dried.
When the plaster was dry, it had the shape of the dead person.
The dried plaster with the shape of a person is called cast.

These are the casts of 2 persons:• on the left there is a child, in fact the cast is small• on the right there is an adult, in fact the cast is big.
112

PATH 3
If you feel like, you can continue your path and see:• House of the Vettii• Necropolis• Villa of the Mysteries

If you are tired, you can take the Piazza Esedra exit
and come back again to finish the visit.

113

22.House of the Vettii

The House of the Vettii is a very famous house.
Aulo Vettio Restituto and Aulo Vettio Conviva lived here.
Aulo Vettio Restituto and Aulo Vettio Conviva
were part of the Vettii family.
The people who lived in this house were very richand very important for the city of Pompei.
The Vettii family was rich and famous because
they traded many kinds of goods.
To trade means buying and selling many objects
and a lot of food to distant or nearby cities.
114

At the entrance of this house you see the fresco of god Priapus.
In Pompei god Priapus is painted with a very big penis
because he was the god of prosperity.
Prosperity means:• feel good• be rich• be powerful.

The Vettii family wanted this fresco to let everybody knowthat they were very powerful.
115

Through the entrance door you get to the peristilium.
The peristilium was a garden with some columns all around.
Around the peristilium you can see the most beautiful roomsin the house.
In the rooms of the house there are many frescoes.
For example, you can see a fresco in the hall.

116

In this fresco you can see some cupids.
Cupids are like little angels.
In this fresco the cupids do a lot of things.

Some cupids are washing clothes.
Some cupids are selling wine.
Some cupids are cooking.
The Vettii family had a fresco painted in this hallbecause it was a very important room.

117

23.Necropolis

A necropolis is like a cemetery of a very long time ago.
When someone died, was buried in the necropolis.
There were 6 necropolises in Pompei.
The 6 necropolises of Pompei were all outside the walls of the city.
You can see one of those necropolises near Porta Ercolano.
Inside the necropolis of Porta Ercolano they also buried
the rich people.
The tombs of those rich people were very beautiful and big.

118

This is a tomb.
This tomb is very big
and has the shape of a semicircle.
A semicircle is half circle.
Inside the tomb you see a big fresco.

119

24.Villa of the Mysteries

The Villa of the Mysteries was a very big house.
The people who lived in this villa were very rich.
This villa is very beautiful, and you can see the sea and the Vesuvius
from some of the rooms.
In this villa there were:• bedrooms• kitchen• bathroom• baths.

The baths were the place where Pompeiians took hot and cold baths.
120

One of the rooms of the Villa is called Hall of the Mysteries.
For that reason it’s called Villa of the Mysteries.
Inside the Hall of the Mysteries there is a big fresco on the walls.
In this fresco you can see many people.
There are:• women• men• children.

121This fresco is about the story of a woman.
Nobody knows the story of this woman well.
Some think she was about to get married.
In the fresco you see the woman doing various things
to get ready for her wedding.
All those things were part of the mystery ceremonies.
A mystery ceremony means to do things that only a few people know.
Therefore a mystery ceremony was a secret.
The mystery ceremonies were made to prepare oneself
for important things like weddings or becoming adults.

122

123

When you see this symbol

it means that in this place
you find people who can help you.
They can help you understand artworks,
paintings, statues, houses, castles.

The non profit association L'abilitàcreated Museo per tutti
with De Agostini Foundation.

The association L’abilità is made up
of a group of people
who take care of people with disabilities.
MUSEO PER TUTTICREATED AND PRODUCED BY

The association L’abilità wants everyone
to understand artworks.
De Agostini Foundation supports
this project.

SUPPORTED BY

The Archaeological Park of Pompei
wants everyone to enter and see
the remains of the city of Pompei.

info
www.museopertutti.org
museopertutti@labilita.org