House of the surgeon (VI,1,9-10) Iron and bronze surgical instruments such as probes, gynecological forceps, catheters, scalpels give the house its name, one of the most ancient in Pompeii (3rd cent. BC), with square limestone blocks in the façade and internal walls built in ‘opus africanum’. With its regular layout, the house is the result...Read More

House of the tragic poet (VI,8,three-5) This is a typical ‘atrium style’ house, although rather smaller compared to other grandiose dwellings. The name comes from the mosaic emblema in the tablinum, depicting the scene of a theatre rehearsal by a choir of satyrs, now at the Naples Archeological Museum along with other paintings of Admetus...Read More

House of the small fountain (VI,8,23) The original layout (early 1st cent. BC) retains the typical plan of the “atrium style” house, based on the entrance-atrium-tablinum axis, sumptuously organized so that the guest would become aware of the host’s social status immediately upon entering. Almost all of the rooms open onto the atrium. The roof...Read More

House of the geometric mosaics (VIII,2,14-16) This large dwelling, with more than 60 rooms, combines two existing houses (late 3rd-2nd cent. BC) with entrances at numbers 14 and 16: its current appearance dates from after the earthquake in 62 AD, when the external façade (opus reticulatum) and the walls of n. 16 were rebuilt, and...Read More

House of Sallustio (VI,2,4) Damaged by the bombing in 1943, the house is one of the most ancient (3rd cent. BC): it is attributed to A. Cossius Libanus, as suggested by a signet ring found in 1806, and not to the C. Sallustio mentioned on the façade. It may have been converted into an inn,...Read More

House of Pansa (VI,6,1) The Ionic capitals of the porticoed garden date the dwelling to 140-120 BC; it has an ‘atrium style’ layout, based on the entrance-atrium-tablinum axis, and occupies the entire block. Colored stones and brick fragments pave the sidewalk in front of the entrance and the vestibule. According to the notice painted in...Read More

House of the Vettii (VI,15,1) Campaign slogans and two signet rings tell us that this domus belonged to the Vettii, wealthy freedmen: renovated in the 1st cent. AD, it centers around the peristyle. The paintings at the entrance highlight wishes of prosperity in cursive style: especially noticeable is the figure of Priapus, god of fertility,...Read More

House of the wild boar (VII,4,48) The original layout remained through later remodeling, with ‘fourth style’ decorations completed immediately prior to the eruption in 79 AD. The house has the typical “atrium style” plan, based on the entrance-atrium-tablinum axis, sumptuously organized so that the guest would become aware of the host’s social status immediately upon...Read More

House of the Ceii (I,6,15) The owner may have been L. Ceius Secundus, mentioned in a campaign message painted on the house’s façade. It has a simple layout: the entrance leads to the atrium, from which the other rooms open out; at the back, a corridor between the triclinium and tablinum leads to the yard....Read More

House of the Lararium of Achilles (I,6,4) The opus quadratum façade shows how ancient this house is: the earthquake of 62 AD forced renovations that were still in progress at the time of the eruption. Delightful ‘fourth style’ decorations, figurative paintings with a mythological theme and still lifes, brighten the rooms. The lararium ‘of Achilles’...Read More