Guide to
the Oplontis
excavation

PARCO
ARCHEOLOGICODI POMPEI

Guide to the Oplontis
excavation sites

PARCO
ARCHEOLOGICODI POMPEI

Table of contents

General map of the Oplontis excavations .  .  .  .  . 3Oplontis  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4History of the excavations  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6Villa of Poppea .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
1 Atrium  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 14
2 Kitchen .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 16
3 Calidarium  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 17
4 Tepidarium .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 19
5 Sitting Room .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 20
6 Triclinium .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 22
7 Cubiculum .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 24
8 Sitting Room .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 25
9 Portico  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 26
10 Viridarium  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 27
11 Corridor  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 28
12 Reception Rooms (Oeci*) . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 29
13 Sitting Room (Diaeta*)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 30
14 Pool .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 31
15 Hospitalia .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33
16 Viridaria .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 34
17 Sitting Room .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 35
18 Sitting Room .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 36
19 Sitting Room .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 37
20 Corridor  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 38
21 Latrine  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 39
22 Peristylium  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 40
23 Lararium .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 41
24 Tablinum  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 42
25 Viridarium  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 43
Glossary  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 44
People: table of contents .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 51
Rules and guidelines when visiting
the excavation sites  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 55

In the following pages the terms indicated by an asterisk (*)
will be defined in the glossary2General map of the
Oplontis excavations

General layout of the excavations
A: Villa Poppaea
B: Villa B
C: part of the portico found between the two villas

3

Oplontis

The only documentary evidence of the name
Oplontis is in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a medieval
copy of an ancient map of the roads of the Roman
Empire. It was part of the suburban area* of the cityof Pompeii, on which it depended administratively.
Since the Bourbon age, remains of ancient buildings
have been found in the area of ​​the modern city of
Torre Annunziata, testifying to the existence of asemi-urban site with villas and public buildings, andidentified as the ancient Oplontis.
The main archaeological finds in the area consistof two monuments that had faced the sea: Villa A,
which was called Poppea, a luxurious residentialbuilding, and the complex known as Villa B, or Villa
di Lucius Crassius Tertius, which was a horreum,
meaning a building in which commercial andproduction activities were carried out. It had ahousing area on the upper floor. The discovery of abath establishment at Punta Oncino confirms that
Oplontis was a small town with infrastructures.

OPLONTI
Villa B

4

Detail of the Tabula Peutingeriana

5History of the excavations

The identification of the excavation site of the Villa
A took place at the end of the 16th century during
the construction of the Sarno Canal, excavatedby Count Muzio Tuttavilla and his heirs in orderto channel water captured from the sources of
the river into the mills he owned in the area of ​​what is known today as Fabbrica d’Armi as well asnear the port; the toponomy (via Mulini Idraulici,
vicolo Frumento, Mugnai ramp) brings to mind thatancient destination. Recent digs downstream of
the canal have revealed that the structures of thebasis villae* and of the underlying level with thesea front were damaged and covered by the canalbed. This confirms that the builders and probably
the designer, the famous architect and engineer
Domenico Fontana*, had to be well aware of thepresence of the ancient ruins.
In the eighteenth century, riding the wave of
the enthusiasm for the recent discoveries of
Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabia, the Bourbon
government promoted archaeological research
initiatives throughout the Vesuvian territory andit was no accident that the first excavation was
attempted in Mascatelle for the Torre Annunziata
area In 1785 Francesco La Vega*, the militaryarchitect in charge of the excavations, reported
having inspected the ruins identified here, but had tosuspend excavation due to the presence of mofeta,
the exhalation of carbon dioxide that was lethal
for the workers who were digging. Later, in 1833,
Minister Nicola Santangelo* commissioned the thenSuperintendent General to the Excavations andDirector of the Royal Bourbon Museum, Marquis
Michele Arditi*, to proceed with the investigation,
which, however, took place only in 1839, after
there had been clandestine excavation attempts inthe vicinity by Wilhelm Johan Carl Zahn*, a noted6German painter and architect, friend of Johann
Wolfgang Von Goethe*. Even if the excavation did
not yield the ancient artefacts that they had hoped
to find, the excavations of 1839 made it possible
to fully comprehend the great importance of thearea and to make it a part of state property with aprovision of protection that preserved the remains
up to present day.
The excavation of Oplontis was no longer discussed
for more than a century, until a committee of local
enthusiasts managed to bring attention to the site.
Ten years of uninterrupted excavations brought
to light a building that had 90 rooms spread over
10,000 square meters.
In 1974, about 300 meters east of Villa A, during theconstruction of the gymnasium of Giuseppe Parini
middle school, workers found Villa B, or Lucius
Crassius Tertius. The building occupies an insula*of the settlement bordered on the north by a roadfacing houses belonging to a second insula* buried
under the structures of the modern inhabited area.
In one of the rooms of this complex, in 1984, thefamous “Oplontis golds” were found, a treasure
trove of jewels and coins that the owners broughtwith them in their desperate flight from the furyof the volcano, as they were waiting for the relief
efforts that should have been coming from the sea,a few meters from the structure where they hadtaken refuge. The building is currently closed to the
public.

7

8

Photo on the upper left: the peristyle of Villa B
during the excavations
Photo on the lower left: the Erma di Eracle atthe time of its discovery in Villa A
Top photo: the satyr-hermaphrodite group repositioned along the edge of the pool9Villa of Poppea

Built on a tall cliff overlooking the sea, the Villa
could be reached by covered pathways, porticoes,
terraces with lookout points and gardens built on
different levels. The structure is a classic example ofan otium* villa, amongst the many that were dottedalong the gulf of Naples, which Strabo* describes
thus “Here the gulf known as Cratere ends, borderedby two bluffs oriented towards south, the Capo
Miseno and the Ateneo, and enriched by the cities
already mentioned that can be found all along
the stretch of land as well as by residences andfarmlands in the middle spaces that are all so close
together they appear to be a single city”.
Its importance lies in the rich pictorial decorations
and in the organization of the spaces based on
perspective axes, symmetries and backgrounds withgardens that are richly decorated with statues andfountains.
The oldest part of the building dates back to about
the middle of the first century BC, and it is organizedaround the Tuscan (1) atrium* with magnificent
paintings in Second Style*, and overlooked thesea, to the south, and the garden (25) to thenorth. Around the atrium* there are sumptuously
decorated rooms for resting, dining and sitting.
The windows opened onto the garden facing thesea, and were closed by wooden shutters. The villaalso had a private bath complex, which was heatedby the kitchen and overlooked a small courtyardwith a fountain in the middle. The baths were latertransformed into spaces for sitting rooms, while
the kitchen with the masonry counter and themezzanine for the servants were kept in use. To theeast of the atrium*, around the peristylium* (22) thathas a fountain in the centre, we find the lararium*with an altar dedicated to the Lares, the guardian
deities of the house, as well as rooms destined for10storage and servants’ sleeping quarters, and anothersmall bath area. In the south-west corner of this
peristylium a staircase leads to an undergroundgallery that stretches under the sixteenth
century Conte di Sarno Canal. It connects with acryptoporticus facing the sea, whose structures,
which collapsed due to earthquakes that occurredalong with the eruption, were found in recent digs.
The villa also had incorporated the remains of aneven more ancient production complex, locatedsouth of the pool. Excavators were only able toinvestigate the area of the press.
Around the middle of the first century AD thecomplex extended to the east with the addition of
the huge swimming pool, 61x17 meters, along which
the dining rooms, the sitting room, the lodgings
for the guests and the small winter gardens werelocated. A portion of the sculptures that decorated
the luxurious structure were found around theswimming pool in the rich vegetation.
Amongst the many Vesuvian villas this is the only
one that gives us the possibility of reconstructing,on the basis of archaeological findings, thecomposition of internal gardens and places ofrest and meditation, which were deemed of great
importance in the life of the Roman aristocracy.
Moreover, palaeobotanical studies have allowed
researchers to reconstruct the original vegetation
was present at the time: hedges of boxwood,oleanders, lemons, plane trees, olive trees,
cypresses, climbing ivy and roses were arranged
to complement the sculptural and architecturalelements.
According to an inscription on an amphora thatrefers to one of Poppea’s slaves or freedmen, thevilla may have belonged to the rich land holdings on
the Campania coast owned by the family of Nero’s
wife. At the time of the eruption the building had tobe largely uninhabited due to construction work inprogress, which had perhaps begun during a change
in ownership. This involved the removal of manyarchitectural and decorative elements.

11

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

12

AtriumKitchenCalidarium
Tepidarium
Sitting Room
Triclinium
Cubiculum
Sitting RoomPortico
Viridarium
Corridor
Reception Rooms (Oeci*)
Sitting Room (Diaeta*)

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Pool
Hospitalia
Viridaria
Sitting Room
Sitting Room
Sitting RoomCorridor
LatrinePeristylium
Lararium
Tablinum
Viridarium

13

1

AtriumThe Tuscan-style atrium* was the main entrance
to the villa in ancient times. The real entryway
was in the south, from the sea, right at the point
where we find today’s Canale Conte di Sarno. The
atrium has an opening in the roof (compluvium*)and corresponding basin in the middle of thefloor (impluvium*) to collect rainwater. It has amosaic white tesserae floor with a polychrome
meander frame. On the walls we still see part of the
sumptuous Second Style*: colonnades decorated
with imagines clipeatae*, basins, cistus, bronze
incense burners and fake doors, surmounted bysmall squares with landscapes. Their purpose wasto use illusion to expand the physical limits of thewalls. The authors of this rich pictorial decoration
were probably those who (mid1st century BC,
approximately) had worked in the villa of Fannio
Sinistore in Boscoreale during that same period.
The two south wings are decorated with frescoes inSecond Style* with imitations of marbles, garlandsof flowers and painted landscapes. To the north
there is a small enclosed garden, as well as a small
passage with an Opus Signinum (cocciopesto) floor*
with white tiles and frescoes in the Fourth Style*.
Fruit trees were planted at the four corners of theflower bed; the silenus-head drips were placed intheir original positions, and the lower part of thecolumns is decorated with a shoot of ivy adorned
with birds. Two long corridors without openings,
painted with imitation marble, lead us to the full lightof the garden.

14

15

2

Kitchen
The long bench with a brick-covered work surface
along the north wall was designed to house theembers; the terracotta or bronze pots could beplaced on iron supports or directly on the embers.
The small compartments with arched openings,
found under the bench, were designed to containextra firewood. Along the east side, in the floor, acircular basin was used to drain liquids; the twowalls on the south side held a wooden table. The
room also had a wooden loft, accessible by an outerstaircase, which served as a servant’s quarters. The
floor is undecorated Opus Signinum (cocciopesto)*,a very resistant material used in service areas. The
kitchen is the only room in this sector that retained
its original purpose.

16

3

Calidarium
The villa was equipped with a private bath, likemany residences that belonged to members of thewealthiest families of the time. The calidarium*, theheated bath with hot air coming from the adjoining
kitchen, has the typical characteristics of this kindof room: the tegulae mammatae*, terracotta slabs
spaced from the wall by protrusions near thecorners, and the suspensurae*, hollow earthenware
columns or small brick pillars upon which thesuspended floor rested. These measures ensured
circulation of the hot air and made sure that theheat in the room remained constant. At a later stage
it was transformed into a sitting room. The frescoes
in the Third Style* belong to this stage. On a red
and black panelled base we see slender columns
that support architraves, and in the middle of theeast wall there is a large depiction of Hercules in thegarden of the Hesperides. The upper portion of thewall, inserted into slender architectural elements,
features landscape paintings and the figure of a poetplaying the lyre. The simplicity of the floor, in whitemosaic with a double black frame and contours thatdelimit the niches, contrasts with the decorativerichness of the walls; a constant motif in all therooms of the villa. The room overlooks a small
portico with a fountain in the centre. It had twoconcentric walls, inside which terracotta vases havebeen found, with holes on the sides, used to growsmall flowering plants that enlivened the space.

17

Calidarium

18

4

Tepidarium
Just like all bath structures, alongside thecalidarium* was the tepidarium*, a room that washeated with warm air. Through the grating in thefloor we can see suspensurae*, consisting of small
brick pilasters, but here we do not have the tegulae
mammatae* on the walls.
Like the previous one, this space was alsotransformed into a sitting room. The walls were
frescoed in the Fourth Style*. Above a black basewith stylized plants, the large red panels, flanked
by vertical stems that are surmounted, in the upper
part, by slender schematic architectural structures,
bear in the centre small paintings of birds pecking
fruit. Here too the floor is made of white tiles with adouble black frame.

19

5

Sitting Room
The great sitting room, of which only the easternwall has been brought to light, is one of the mostelegant and luxurious rooms in the villa. The
decoration in Second Style* depicts a view of asanctuary of Apollo. Through an open gate we cansee the Delphic tripod, with a torch at the base,immersed in a garden of laurels and surrounded by a
portico with three arms with two orders of Ionic andDoric columns. On the wall at the sides of the gate,
the decoration is enlivened by peacocks, masks andpaintings inside doors. The floor is a mosaic carpetof white tesserae with irregular inserts of coloured
marble surrounded by a black frame. The passage
brings us from the small portico with the fountain,
whose black tile floor with rows of white crosses
and frames with vegetable motifs features a whitemosaic threshold with black triangles arranged as apin-wheel.
The hall overlooked a portico that opened up
onto the garden overlooking the sea, with a large
window. The imprint of wooden doors, found open,
was preserved. In the garden there was also a talltree, and one of its branches left a mark on thelevels of the eruption to the west. The columns of
the portico are covered with plaster with white andred scales as decorative elements. Later they were
supported by opus craticium* masonry sectionsin the Fourth Style*, and probably had doors or
curtains to protect the spaces in the back from theheat as well as the cold. The white mosaic floor has
perpendicular rows of black tiles, with a black stripe
along the walls.

20

21

6

Triclinium
This was a dining room and it connected to the
kitchen through a small service area paved in Opus
Signinum (cocciopesto)* with simple frescoes
in the Fourth Style*. The fact that there was adivision of the Sitting Room into an anteroom
and dining room is seen by the floor and wall
decorations. A polychrome meander threshold
divides the anteroom, with a white tile floor withred, green, orange and blue crosses and a black
stripe that serves as a border, from the hall thathas a polychrome rhomboid carpet in the centre
where they would place the table with food. The
diners stretched out to eat on beds arranged along
the walls. The threshold from the previous sitting
room is decorated with a polychrome meander
design. The wall decoration in Second Style* isan extraordinary example of Hellenistic Baroquearchitecture. Coloured marble columns with figured
capitals stand on a low podium, around which
metallic trunks are wrapped with flowers in precious
stones, holding arched architraves. Right in thecentre between the east and west sides, beyond aclosed door, you can see round temples with statuesof female deities and perspective colonnades. On
the north wall two figured columns frame a gate
beyond which a tall column holds a statue of afemale divinity in a garden. On this wall there is abasket of figs, a rustic offering to the divinity, well
suited to the convivial functions of the sitting room.
Above the frescoes we can see the remains of
the stucco decoration that completed the space’s
décor. The antechamber’s walls are adorned withsmall landscapes in yellow monochrome, and in theupper part there is an architrave with figured corbels
that supports a wall with false marble encrustations.

22

23

7

Cubiculum
The small bedroom has two alcoves* with vaulted
roofs, where the beds were located. The narrow
space seems to be made larger by the Second
Style* illusion, very similar to atrium* 1. At thecentre of the walls the false alabaster columns
frame fantastical architecture, false marble andwreaths of intertwined flowers tied by ribbons,completing the ornamentation. The vaults of thealcoves, with stucco frames, are decorated with acoffered pattern, while the lunettes feature complex
landscape scenery. The mosaic white tesserae floorfeatures a black frame, and the space of the alcovesis contoured by a stripe with a chequered andtriangle overlay pattern.
The imprints of the door and window were found.
At the time of the eruption the window was ajar. At
a later time an opening was made in the north wall
to make a passageway into the next room, which
resulted in the removal of a bed.

24

8

Sitting RoomThis space is yet another sitting room. The
sumptuous frescoes in Second Style* that perhaps
represent the Scaenae frons* of a theatre, above
which the perspective flight of the columns of
the porticoes can be seen pone scaenam*, areenriched by numerous details. On the north side, atthe bottom right, a basket containing fruit appears
covered by a very thin veil; always on the right, but
at the top, the transparency of the glass of a cup fullof pomegranates is rendered with great skill. On thesouthern side, at the bottom, on a silver support we
see a cake, while at the top centre of the westernside is a lovely example of a mask recalling theatrical
backdrops of Hellenic Greek tradition. The door
threshold is made of alabaster, and is a rare exampleof the use of this precious material that is usuallyused for the creation of small luxury items. The
mosaic floor has white tesserae with a black border.

25

9PorticoRecent excavations have shown that this portico is thecontinuation of the other portico, symmetrical to thisone, which is located in front of the Sitting Room 5
and the Triclinium* 6. Here too, the space between thecolumns, covered with red and white scales, is closed
by opus craticium* wall sections, frescoed in Fourth
Style*, within which curtains or doors were likely to
be inserted to protect the cubicula* back rooms frombeing too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
The white mosaic floor has perpendicular rows of blacktiles with a black stripe along the walls. The smallest
cubiculum’s* ceiling was able to be reconstructed. It
is frescoed with a sober decorative Third Style*, witha red or white background, and the panels feature
painted dolphins and floral elements. The cubiculum* isfrescoed in Fourth Style* with two alcoves for the beds
located at the north-west corner, towards the garden.
Above the dark red base the white panels, decorated
with cupids and animals, are separated by aediculae*
on a red background with candlesticks; subtle
architectures, among which birds are painted, decorate
the upper part. This room also has lozenge shapes, withplant motifs, that indicate the space for the beds.

26

10

Viridarium
Overlooking the sea, but more intimate andsecluded than the large garden 25, this is the
traditional space that was dedicated to rest andmeditation, typically present in otium* villas.
Palaeobotanical studies have allowed researchers
to reconstruct the vegetation of that time. In thelawn enclosed by the portico, of which there are
only three arms with brick columns covered withwhite stucco, and in front of each column there
were creepers and evergreens and a flower bed in
the centre. The walls of the portico are decorated
the Fourth Style* with a black base revived byplants, a red panelled median area separated byblack stripes with aediculae* decorated with plantmotifs. The upper portion is white with perspective
architectures. The small paintings on the west side
were detached by the Bourbon excavators, whowere also responsible for the large holes in the walls
due to the “tunnel” excavation technique that waspractised at the time.

27

11

CorridorThis corridor, formed by two perpendicular arms,
surrounds and links rooms 12 and 13. The west-east
arm leads directly to the rooms and to the open
space south of the pool, intended to be a solarium*,in which a pergola was to be placed, of which thesupporting pillars remain. A small gap in the south
wall gave access to the rooms of an older rustic villathat had been previously built and was incorporated
into the property at the time of construction of
the pool. The north-south arm, instead, leads to alarge corridor, 20, that connects this with the oldest
area of the villa. In the frescoes in Fourth Style* ofthe east-west arm, above a black baseboard, redpanels with birds pecking fruit separate large white
mirrors with fantastic perspective architectures andtrees; the upper area has a white background witharchitectures in which birds or landscape paintings
are inserted. The decoration of the north-south arm,
up to half height, has a cursive decoration typicalof passageways: on a red base there are large black
panels filled with parallel white and grey stripes that
imitate marble. The upper part of the walls and theceiling have a continuous decoration with coloured
bands that divide the space into panels with birds
and sea animals. Here too the white tesserae floor
has a black frame.

28

12

Reception Rooms (Oeci*)
The unusual shape of these two spaces, connectedby a narrow service passageway, is determined by
the peculiar shape of sitting room 13 right in frontof these rooms. Together they constitute a one coregroup of spaces that acts as a sitting room. The
decoration of both rooms is very similar to the eastwest arm of corridor 11: the paintings inserted in
the upper part of the walls depict still life and birds.
To the east, the room opens up to an uncovered
corridor with frescoes that mimic a garden in
the lower part of the wall that has a faux rustic
bossage*. The corridor connecting its twin space
to the north has a black baseboard with plants andpanels, also with a black background, in the middle
part, featuring birds and pottery. The space to theNorth distinguishes itself because its frescoes arevery well preserved.

29

13

Sitting Room (Diaeta*)
This room has an unusual polygonal layout andits large window overlooks the pool. The room’s
rich decorative elements are a testament to thehigh quality of the room. The floor was in opus
sectile*, but had largely been removed because
when the volcano erupted the villa was undergoinga remodelling. Of the rhomboidal marble tiles there
remain traces of the preparation of the bottom.
The walls had sophisticated decorations, which
was quite unusual. In the lower part they werecovered by a base of coloured marble, and someslabs remain under the window. Above the marble
there were wooden panels arranged so as to form abossage*. The hall overlooked a large open space.
Here in the small still visible basin, there was a large
marble crater decorated with dancing warriors. It
was used as a fountain. In front, a sculpture of Satyrwith Hermaphroditus was reflected in the water ofthe pool.

30

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Pool
The 61x17 meter pool is the central element of
this sector and was added in the Julio-Claudianage. Originally larger, it had reached the edge ofthe portico and was then brought to its current
size at a later time. The pool was accessed by astaircase in the south-east corner. The pool is
paved in Opus Signinum (cocciopesto) with stucco
walls with relief panels. It shows certain technicaldetails such as being tilted towards the south, toallow the water to drain out, and the overflow
system visible in its south west corner, which makeit one of the most stunning examples of structures
dedicated to sport and personal care in general.
The long colonnade portico that houses the poolhas a splendid decoration in Fourth Style* with awhite background set on a marble base. The thin ivy
shoots that emerge from metal craters with peacockfeathers are populated by miniature animals, lizards,
grasshoppers, frogs, goats and birds, and they perch
onto thin rods that form large panels with landscapepaintings. The white floor with a black frame isinterspersed with coloured marble pieces.
Thirteen bases were found along the east side of
the pool, but only seven had their corresponding
statue, mostly replicas inspired by Greek sculptural
masterpieces. From the north, we see a boy’s head,a herm of Heracles, a female statue with a chiton,
and a Nike. Then, in reverse order, a Nike similar
to the previous one, a male statue, and anotherherm of Heracles. Each statue was placed in frontof a tree, forming a natural counterpoint of verticalelements in sequence to the colonnade on the
opposite side. Palaeobotanical studies have given
us the opportunity to reconstruct the original
arrangement of the garden: plane trees, laurels,
cypresses and oleanders were present during thattime and they served to complement the sculptural

31

Pool

and architectural decoration elements. The area wasinterpreted as a Greek style gymnasium*. The largepool and the space immediately east of it offered aplace for athletic exercise under the eyes of gods
and heroes. When the volcano erupted, the villa wasbeing refurbished and workers were rebuilding the
portico’s roof. The columns had been removed andwere in fact found far from their original locationin the large tablinum* 24 that overlooks the villa’s
internal garden.

32

15

Hospitalia
Among the rooms that open onto the pool’s portico,a core group of rooms stand out for the simplicity ofthe decorations: a red, yellow or black base delimits
the lower part of the wall that is then covered withlarge white backgrounds on the upper part, without
any additional decoration. This feature, along withthe fact that these rooms are in an area that is quite
isolated from the other rooms, has led us to believethat they were hospitalia, or rooms set aside for theadded privacy of guests who were invited to stay inthe villa.

33

16

Viridaria
Next to the villa’s large open gardens full of realplants, inside we can also find gardens where
reality and fiction coexist. The reception rooms
overlooking the portico of the pool are separatedby small internal gardens with central flowerbeds,
where medium or small plants were planted. The
pictorial decoration of the walls is so rich in detailthat we can recognize the plant and animal species
that are depicted: hedges of myrtle surround themarble fountains of various shapes, where we see
crested larks, nightingales and magpies with blue
wings drinking water. In the small garden north ofroom 18 the bones of two dormice were found. It
was not possible to determine if they were trapped
here by the eruption or if they were locked up insmall wicker cages, now destroyed. It is equallytrue, however, that the dormouse was considered
a delicacy by the Romans, therefore the bones canperhaps be considered remains of a meal.

34

17

Sitting Room
Arranged symmetrically to room 19 on the sidesof hall 18 and delimited by the viridaria 16 in acomposition whose complex layout is reflected
in a similar arrangement of Nero’s Domus Aurea,
this room also incorporates that layout with asemicircular niche on the west wall, in the back,which was to accommodate a small sculpture.
The most striking feature of this sitting room is theceiling, which they were able to reconstruct withjust a few fragments, thanks to careful restoration.
The decoration recalls the decorative patterns ofFourth Style*, but the typical geometric partitions
are here rendered in relief with stucco frames
that, with their round or rhomboid motifs, animate
the surface creating a fascinating alternation oflight and shadow. On the walls there are tracesof marble slabs up to one meter in height, above
which a simple monochrome fresco would havebeen painted. The mosaic floor is white with a blackborder.

35

18

Sitting RoomThis sitting room opens onto the garden with a large
window. The lower part of the walls was covered inprecious marble, while the floor was opus sectile*,
consisting of polychrome marble tiles, of which only
a part is visible today. The east side, open towards
the pool, had two very tall columns that had been
removed because of the remodelling work thatwas being carried out, just as those of the portico.
On the north and south sides two windows open
out onto interior gardens (viridaria*). Those whostayed in this room enjoyed an extraordinary view:in front of them the white of the imposing pool ofwater, surrounded by an art gallery immersed in theluxuriant vegetation of oleanders, cypresses, laurels,
plane trees and lemons. Behind the room there is aninterior garden, a place for walking and meditation,with tall trees, rosebushes, apple trees, olive trees,and daisies. The vivid and bright colours of thesegardens are contrasted by the darker ones of thesmall interior viridaria* 16, which in perspective
created an intriguing interplay of light and shadow.

36

19

Sitting RoomThis space, identical in layout to the previous Sitting
Room 17, with the exception that it has two windowsthat look out to the back garden, has a sumptuous
wall decoration in coloured marble in the lower partand white plaster above. Yet another viridarium*, thisone extremely small, is visible through a window on
the south side. It is very similar to the others, bothfor its flower bed and the wall decoration. It shouldbe emphasized that owners of villas at the time were
extremely sensitive to naturalistic elements, whether
real or reproduced in paintings, to the point where
they would take advantage of even the smallest
available space for this purpose.

37

20

Corridor
The core rooms of the oldest part of the building
and the most recent area with the pool are linked
by this imposing corridor along whose walls we see
resting benches that were used during the practiceof the ambulatio* (the hygienic walk) in this freshand airy space. The walls and the ceiling are divided
into square sectors decorated with large panels
in Fourth Style* that have a white backgroundwith coloured frames and contours enrichedwith aediculae*, animals, garlands, paintings andMedusa* heads, rendered with great elegance andskill. The lower part of the walls features the typicaldecoration of these passage areas. The base andthe benches were painted red. Above them there
were large black panels filled with parallel white andgrey stripes and separated by yellow lines, imitating
marble. The floor is paved in Opus Signinum(cocciopesto)*.

38

21

Latrine
The small space, built around the peristylium 22, wasequipped with a small bath area, with simple lightplaster and an Opus Signinum (cocciopesto)* floor.
We can recognize a calidarium* with suspensurae*
and the actual latrine, divided into two sections witha partition and equipped with a masonry tank forwater collection. Along its walls, special woodenbored shelves were presumably embedded in thewall, under which a canal covered in Opus Signinum(cocciopesto)* ran, which allowed the system to becleaned using the water contained in the tank.

39

22

Peristylium
The peristylium*, whose open central area was
occupied by a fountain shaded by a large chestnut
tree, probably the oldest among the villa’s trees, hasfour corridors with an Opus Signinum (cocciopesto)*
floor with marble inserts, flanked by columns
connected by plutei* in masonry that are decorated
on the inside with plants on a red background. The
columns, the back walls and the external part of theplutei are decorated with squares with black and white
stripes that imitate marble, which is in accordancewith an economic model of decorating that we havealready seen in rooms intended for passageways or
to accommodate the family of servants. Around it wesee small rooms, some with a wooden mezzanine,destined as storage areas or dormitories for theservants; others were on the second floor, accessible
by a staircase. In the south-west corner a staircase
led to the cryptoporticus that accessed the pathway
to the sea. We believe that the small statue of a boy
with a goose that was found in one of the porticoes
overlooking the garden 25, used as a fountain,
presumably would have been originally placed on thesmall fountain in the centre of this open space.

40

23

LarariumThis room housed the lararium* of the houseand it has a large masonry altar. It is decorated in
Fourth Style* with a white background with finearchitectures and small paintings of fish. The niche
for the altar has a red base with yellow panels andthe floor is white with rows of black crosses and a
black frame. The lararium* was the centre of thefamily’s religious life. The altar held the imagesof the Lares, spirits who protected the fortune of
the house, to whom the members of the family
prayed daily. On the occasion of special festivities,
flames were lit before them. According to a legend,reported only by Ovid*, the Lares were twin sonsof the nymph Lara and Mercury. They are usually
depicted as curly youngsters, dressed in a shorttunic and tall boots, dancing while raising a hornshaped vase (rhytòn) in the left hand and a plate in
the right (patera). Beside the Lares, the owners of
the house might have placed images of ancestors
and other deities to whom they were particularly
devote.

41

24

TablinumWith a large window on the small internal garden,
this huge room probably served as a reception
space. In the front there are two very tall brickcolumns covered with white plaster, but the walls
do not have any type of cladding because of therenovations. The floor is in white mosaic with ablack border and it features stylized plant motifs
on the thresholds between the columns. The
columns deposited along the walls belong to the
portico of the pool and were moved here during therenovation of that part of the villa. Two symmetricalporticoes with columns covered in white plasterare the wings of the room, whose interior walls aredecorated in Fourth Style* with panels having a red
background with yellow in the middle area. To thewest one can see where the arm of the portico not
yet brought to light extends. Here the statues of thefour centaurs and the child with the goose used as
fountain elements were found; the first ones in the
big garden 25, the second one in the peristylium 22.

42

25

Viridarium
This large garden has only been partially excavatedand probably extends below the modern buildings to
the north and west. Careful palaeobotanical studies
have allowed us to reconstruct the essences present
during the time and the design of the garden itself,
inspired by Topiary (ars topiaria)* canons.
On the same axis with the large Sitting Room 24
and the atrium* there is a walkway that is lined withhedges of evergreens. To the east we find a diagonalpath, which had to have a counterpart in the westof the garden, toward the north. The three paths
met at a point that falls below the unexcavated area.
Along the edge of the diagonal walkway there arebases for four marble herms* of Aphrodite, Dionysus
child, an old woman and another child, which were
found during the excavations. Presumably the four
statues of centaurs found under portico 33 were also
originally located along these walkways.
At the eastern edge of the garden, towards theswimming pool, two parallel paths were separated bya row of centenarian trees whose root imprints canbe seen. Other imprints in the flowerbeds belong to
the roots of apple trees and oleanders. At the end of
the eastern portico, in the remains of a space that wasdestroyed by an earthquake, a small rose garden wasplanted, reflecting the priority that the owners gave tothe reconstruction of the gardens. Flowerbeds withdaisies and olive trees completed the vegetation.

43

Glossary

AEDICULA: diminutive of the Latin aedes (seat) thatindicated the house of the god. Dedicated to public
and private worship, it consists of a niche with thecharacteristics of temples, a pediment supported
by columns, with or without wooden doors. The
aediculae house statuettes of deities who protect
the home. It is also commonly called Lararium*.
ALCOVE: The area of a room, separated by an archor an architrave and closed off by curtains, where
the bed is found.
ARS TOPIARIA: technique of pruning trees and shrubs into
defined geometric shapes, different from the way aplant would grow naturally, for ornamental purposes.
ATRIUM: vast space connected to the most importantrooms. In the most ancient times it was the heart of
the house, then the centre of domestic life became
the internal portico garden, the peristylium*, andthe atrium* served as a reception area.
BASIS VILLAE: terracing that regularizes the land andsupports the villa’s facilities; in it we find spacesthat have various destinations: residential, storage
or cellars. It was like a panoramic terrace.
BOSSAGE (BUGNATO): type of masonry consisting ofblocks of stone overlapped with staggered rows,
the horizontal and vertical joints are set back fromthe front of the masonry, to give a jutting effectto each block. Very widespread during the Renaissance and used for the façades of noble palaces.
CALIDARIUM: bath space warmed with hot air througha system that used suspensurae* and tegulae mammatae* and heated by a furnace.

COMPLUVIUM: opening in the centre of the atrium’s*roof, source of light and air for the house. The
sloped roof directed rainwater into the impluvium*
below, which in turn drained the water into thecistern underneath it.
CUBICULUM: bedroom. Generally they were small insize to facilitate heating in the winter months.
DIAETA: sitting room intended for rest. The term, often
used by Pliny the Younger* when he describes his
villas, indicates one or more rooms that are secluded or separated from the rest of the house. A freedman or a slave, called Diaetarchus, was responsible
for supervising the diaeta.
GYMNASIUM: Greek term to indicate a set of rooms
used for the physical education of young people,
considered a duty of good citizens towards themselves and towards their homeland, and for the
training of professional sportsmen.
HERM: pillar with a quadrangular section, varying inheight from 1 to 1.5 metres, surmounted by a head
sculpted all around. In Greece Herms supported
the head of Hermes, hence the name, and wereplaced along the streets, at crossroads, at the borders of properties and in front of doors to invoke
the god’s protection. In later times they became
simple supports for all-around portraits, and thisuse continues today.
IMAGINES CLIPEATAE: portraits within a frame reminiscent of the round shield, the clipeus. This type of
portrait is typical of the Roman Republic, in particular of noble families. The cult practices required,in fact, that funeral masks of ancestors were to be45

Glossary

carried in processions during the funerals of family
members. Later the portraits began to be mounted
inside round shields, hence the name.
IMPLUVIUM: quadrangular basin for the collection of
rainwater, placed in the atrium** in correspondencewith the compluvium and connected to a cistern
below.
INSULA: With this name, in a metaphorical sense, theRomans designated the house, which originally, since it was separated from the neighbouring
houses by a space of two and a half feet (ambitus),
resembled an island. The term therefore has a spatial meaning in contrast to the generic voice domus,
which indicates the dwelling.
LARARIUM: aedicola* that holds the statues of the
Lares, guardian deities of the house and the public
spaces. In domestic cult practices they represented
the ancestors (Lares familiares) and were depicted as young men with short tunics and tall boots,
about to pour wine from the rhyton (a horn-shapedcup). Every important event was put under the protection of the Lares with sacrifices and offerings: forexample becoming an adult, departing or returningfrom a journey, marriage, and births.
MEDUSA: a Gorgone, daughter of the marine deities
Phorcys and Ceto. Just like her sisters Stheno andEuryale she had the power to petrify those who
met her gaze. Medusa, the only mortal of the threesisters, was beheaded by Perseus with the help ofHermes. Her blood gave life to the winged horse
Bellerophon and the giant Chrysaor, as well as coral(Gorgoniidae), according to some variations of the
myth.

46

OECUS: the most important room of the Roman houseoften used as a triclinium* for banquets. The more
luxurious the home the more magnificent the layout.
OPUS CRATICIUM: masonry technique that obtained
light load-bearing structures to be used for partitions and walls of upper floors. It consists of awooden warp buffered with various types of material: stone masonry, terracotta bricks, wooden
boards, clay mixed with straw or a plastered canopy.
OPUS SECTILE: one of the most sophisticated decoration techniques for floors and walls both for of its
use of luxury materials (usually precious marbles)
as well as for the complexity of installation. In fact,
the pieces of marble had to be sectioned in thinsheets to compose polychrome inlays. The technique was used in the West for the entire durationof the Roman Empire and would continue to be
used in Byzantine basilicas in the East.
OPUS SIGNINUM (COCCIOPESTO): mixture of minutefragments of bricks and mortar used as a waterproof coating for both interior and exterior floors
and walls. It is often decorated with tesserae or
marble inserts. Normally used for lining tanks, basins, swimming pools and in service areas.
OTIUM VILLA: large building mainly for residential use,
located in a suburban area, with large open spaces,
pavilions and areas for rest and meditation.
PERISTYLIUM: courtyard surrounded by porticoes.
PLUTEO: balustrade in metal, wood, stone or masonrythat divides two parts of a space. It can be decorated with geometric or figurative motifs, or it can be47

Glossary

painted. In Christian religious architecture it divides
the various sectors of the church.
PONE SCAENAM: literally “behind the scene”. Theseare quadrangular porticoes (porticus pone scaenam) placed behind the scenes of the theatre,
where the spectators could walk during the intervals of the performances. They performed thefunction of the modern foyer.
SCAENAE FRONS: theatre backdrop. Normally it consisted of a more or less elaborate wall in which
two or three doors were open, to be used by theactors. By convention the central door was linked
to the scene, the right door indicated the way tothe forum, and the left to the port.
SOLARIUM: part of the house that is open to the sun
and the air; it could be either an open space or aterrace or a loggia under a roof.
SUBURB: from the Latin sub (under) and urbs (city). Indicates the area immediately outside the city walls.
SUSPENSURAE: small pillars, usually with a squarebase, placed under the flooring of the heated rooms
in order to create a cavity for the passage of hot air
produced by the furnace.
TABLINUM: the room that opens onto the atrium*,on the opposite side of the entrance, and divides
it from the peristylium*. It is the main space of thehouse, the owner’s office, where customers werereceived. Originally it was the owner’s bedroom.
TEGULAE MAMMATAE: bricks with protuberances used tocreate air chambers in the walls of the heated rooms.

48

TEPIDARIUM: bath environment warmed up with warm
air through a system that used suspensurae* and/or tegulae mammatae*, and heated by a furnace.
THE POMPEIAN STYLES OF PAINTING: on the basisof Pompeii’s frescoes, which offered a wider picture of evidence than Rome, the German scholar
August Mau identified four styles, based on thetreatise made by Vitruvius in the VII book of De
Architectura:-- FIRST STYLE mid II century BC – beginning I century BC Imitates walls covered in marble, also using stucco elements in relief. The walls are always
divided into three zones: an upper band decorated
with stucco frames; a middle area with panels, usually three, imitating marble slabs, and a plinth orbaseboard. Relief stucco architectural elements are
frequently used for the vertical division of surfaces.
-- SECOND STYLE end II century BC – end I century
BC Painted architectural elements on the walls withsophisticated perspectives that give the illusion of alarger space. Elegant colonnades rise up onto podiums painted in the foreground, doors and windows
open onto perspective views. Friezes and architectural cornices are no longer made of stucco, butpainted. During this period artists loved landscapepainting and still life.
-- THIRD STYLE a contemporary of the SECOND arrives up to the end of I century AD Deeply different
from the previous style, this style completely abandons perspective. Walls appear flat, painted a single
colour, almost like curtains or tapestries on whichsmall panels with genre scenes are painted. Frequent decorative elements are candelabras, winged
figures or vegetable spirals and Egyptian motifs. The
first example of Third Style is found in the pyramidof Caius Cestius, in Rome.

49

Glossary-- FOURTH STYLE affirms itself in the Neronian age,
and it is characterized by the presence of fantastic
and surreal architectures that reflect the decorative
patterns of the previous styles: imitations of marble
cladding, faux architecture and trompe-l’oeil fromthe second style; ornaments with candlesticks,
winged figures and plant shoots, characteristic of
the third style.
TRICLINIUM: the dining room of the Roman house;takes its name from the three beds on which theguests and the home-owners would lay, three perbed, placed on three sides of the room, leaving thefourth side free for service. It generally opened onto
the garden so that guests could enjoy the view ofthe greenery.
VIRIDARIUM/VIRIDARIA: the garden of the Romanhouse, often adorned with statues and fountains. It
is generally located at the centre of the peristylium*.

50

People: table of contents

MICHELE ARDITI (1746-1838), lawyer, archaeologist
and antiquarian. In 1787 he became part of the Accademia Ercolanese, established in 1755 by Charles
III of Bourbon to publish and illustrate the objects
coming from the excavations of the cities buried by
the eruption in 79 AD. In 1807 Giuseppe Bonaparte appointed him director general of the Museumof Naples and superintendent of the excavationsof antiquities. For over twenty years and until his
death, he dedicated his work to the arrangement
and conservation of archaeological, numismaticand literary materials, the study of these materials,
the organization of excavations, and the preparation of elements for the development of a literary
and political history of the Aragonese period.
DOMENICO FONTANA (1543-1607), Swiss architect
who worked in Rome and Naples in the late Renaissance. Appointed architect of Saint Peter’s, heis responsible for, among many works, the lanternof the Dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the loggia of
San Giovanni in Laterano and the Vatican Library. He
also was responsible for the raising of the obelisks
of Saint Peter’s Square, Piazza del Popolo, Santa
Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano. In
Naples he designed the new Palazzo Reale, theCanale Conte di Sarno and, between 1610 and 1616,
he completed a reclaimed large area of ​​Campania
creating the Regi Lagni system, which were collection channels that put an end to frequent floods,
an obstacle to the agricultural development of thelands.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE (1749-1832),
universally considered one of the greatest German
writers. He wrote poetry, drama, literature, theology, philosophy, science, painting and music. In 1786

51

People: table of contents

he undertook the Grand Tour, or that trip to Italy
that between 1700 and 1800 was considered necessary for the cultural training of a citizen, during
which he also visited Pompeii and Herculaneum
reporting his impressions with meticulous description of the places, mixed with reflections on art andliterature, in his work Italian Journey.
FRANCESCO LA VEGA (1737-1815), a Spanish militaryengineer who was one of the first excavators of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In 1778 he designed the firstmap of Pompeii. During his direction the Odeon, thetheatre, the temple of Isis, the Triangular Forum, thequadriporticus of the theatre with the barracks of thegladiators, the Samnite Palestra, the Villa di Diomede
and other buildings of the area were brought to light.
La Vega kept precise excavation diaries and drawingsof the findings that are still a great help for the reconstruction of Pompeii. He was also the first to recognize the tourism potential of the archaeological site.
PLINY THE YOUNGER (61/62 AD -113/114 AD), fatherless, was taken under the tutelage of his uncle Pliny
the Elder, the famous naturalist who died in theeruption in 79 AD. Very rich, he went through all
the stages of his public career becoming governorof Bithynia, where he died. His best known workis the Epistles, a collection of letters addressed tovarious people including the historian Tacitus, towhom Pliny writes two missives, important sources that give us information about the eruption of
Vesuvius, which was experienced in the first person
by Pliny the Younger himself. In those days he wasin his villa in Capo Miseno.
PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO (OVID) (43 BC-17 AD), originally from Sulmona he went to Rome when he52

was very young to study rhetoric, then dedicatedhis studies to poetry. He was in contact with thegreatest writers and poets of his time and was in the
court of Augustus, leading a brilliant life. His most
famous works are Ars amatoria, Metamorphoses
and Fasti; in the latter he narrates fables and myths
related to the feasts of the Roman Calendar. The
work remained unfinished because in 8 AD he wasexiled by Emperor Augustus to Tomis (Costanza)on the Black Sea, where he died. During his period
in exile he composed two poems and the books ofthe Epistulae ex Ponto and the Tristia in which helongs for his distant homeland.
NICOLA SANTANGELO (1754-1851), Minister of theInterior of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; maintained this position from 1831 to 1847. Very rich,he collected a precious archaeological collection,subsequently donated by his brother to the National
Archaeological Museum. On the public works front
he built the Poggioreale cemetery, restructured theGreat State Archives, and built the Vesuvius Volcano
Observatory, inaugurated in 1845 on the occasionof the 7th Congress of Italian Scientists in Naples,
spearheaded by Santangelo himself. He established
the Fire Brigade (which did not yet exist in Italy). He
built the first section of the famous Naples-Portici steam railway, the first in Italy, and the Reale
Opificio Borbonico in Pietrarsa, the first factory of
locomotives, rails and rolling stock.
STRABO (before 60 BC-approximately 20 AD), he arrived in Rome around 45 BC, travelled to Etruria, to
the Aegean, to Egypt, where he ascended the Nile
to Philae, and spent a long time in Alexandria. He
returned to Rome between 20 and 10 BC, but left
again (maybe after 7 BC), probably returning to the53

People: table of contents

Orient (according to others, he was in Campania).
Of all his works Geographica the one remaining,with 17 books, in which he describes the regionsof the inhabited world.
WILHELM JOHAN CARL ZAHN (1800-1871), professorof the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin from 1829,
and author of the famous work The Most Beautiful
Ornaments and the Most Notable Pictures from
Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiæ, he was active in
the Twenties in Pompeii, where he had the chance
to clash several times with the erudite scholars ofthe Herculaneum Accademia. A friend of Goethe,
he accompanied his son August on his unfortunate
trip to Italy.

54

Rules and guidelines when
visiting the excavation sites

The area of the​​ Villa di Poppea has an area of about​​
11,000square meters and still preserves original decorative elements. The pavements have natural irregularities, therefore we recommend comfortable shoes and that you
pay the utmost attention during your visit in order not todamage the surfaces and to avoid possible incidents forwhich the Archaeological Park cannot be held responsible. It should be noted that in the Vesuvian archaeologicalareas the provisions of Legislative Decree no. 81/08 apply
regarding the rules for the protection of cultural heritage
sites (Legislative Decree no. 42/2004 and s.m.i.).
ENTRANCE
The site has an entrance/exit on Via dei Sepolcri.
BAGS
We do not allow bags, backpacks, luggage, or cases greater than 30x30x15 cm.
Students and groups who are visiting the sites should leave
their backpacks on their buses.
GUIDED TOURS
The tourist guide service is not supervised by the Archaeological Park and is carried out by guides authorized by theCampania Region who can be identified by their special
badges.
PICNIC AREAS
It is forbidden to eat inside the Villa’s facilities and thegardens.
FIRST AIDThe excavations are not equipped with a first aid medic. For emergencies please call 118 toll-free, available 24
hours a day. The number can be reached anywhere in
Italy and from all telephones.

55

Rules and guidelines when visiting the excavation sites

PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY
Photos and videos are permitted solely for private use.
Flash photography is prohibited. Please contact the Archaeological Park for authorization before filming withtripod or for commercial use.
PRECAUTIONS AND PROHIBITIONSVisitors with mobility limitations and cardiovascular issues should exercise the utmost caution. We recommend
wearing comfortable shoes during your visit. It is strictly
forbidden to access the areas that are closed off by barriers and bollards. We ask visitors to be careful not to comeclose to the frescoed walls. Do no climb or sit on walls oron the archaeological and architectural structures present
in the area. We urge you to be respectful, refrain fromshouting, from writing on the walls, and from littering.
Please dispose of waste in the appropriate bins.
NO SMOKING
It is strictly forbidden to smoke inside the sites.
PETS
Large dogs are not allowed in the archaeological area.
Pets must be on a lead and held in your arms when inside
the building. Please do not approach unattended animals
that may be in the area.

56

In order to download the guide and map,and for information about all the sites at
the Pompeii Archaeological Park, visit thewebsite: www.pompeiisites.org© 2018Pompeii Archaeological Park
This guide contains brief
introductory texts on the
excavations’ most significant areas.
Some may be temporarily closed.
It is strictly forbidden to distribute
this material without the express
authorisation of the Pompeii
Archaeological Park.
Photographs by Dario Assisi e Riccardo Maria Cipolla
Press Rubbettino