The House of the Tragic Poet

Although the reduced dimension, this house is one of the most elegant and richly decorated in Pompeii. It’s an “italicstyle” house, having more rooms along the same line, and a tuscan atrium. The building sat in Regio VI, the farwestern part of the city, probably belonged to Anino, member of one of the new senatorial class families emerging in Pompeii.It was built in the second century B.C., but the decoration was entirely remodeled after the earthquake in 62 AD. The name comes from the mosaic depicting the scene of a theatre rehearsal by a choir of satyrs, found inside the house, now at the Archaeological Museum of Naples. All that are remaining are the decorations of the oeucus (living room), with Ariadne abandoned by Theseus and at the entrance the mosaic depicting a dog and the message “CAVE CANEM” (beware of dog), typical of other Pompeian dwellings: this warning is also recalled in literary sources, such as in the entertaining episode of Petronius’s Satyricon, in which the protagonist is frightened to death by the large painted dog. The atrium was decorated with great frescoes depicting mythological themes, such as Zeus and Hera, Achilles and Breseis, of high quality composition. On either side are the cubicula (bed rooms) and the alae (alcoves opening to the sides of the atrium), well decorated. The peristyle (interior garden) is colonnaded on three sides, where was another famous fresco, known as the Sacrifice of Iphigenia, derived from Timante’s painting, who lived in the V-IV century B.C., and a lararium at the rear. Three further rooms open off the portico, one of these is a triclinum (dining room), decorated with “Fourth style” frescoes with other mythical themes (Venus and cherubs, Ariadne abandoned by Theseus, Danae).

The Faun’s House

Thanks to a sensorial system, our movement will produce the virtual reconstruction of the Faun’s house:moving forward, our steps will discover an elegantmosaic and, as we approach the screen, the Pompeian villa will be reconstructed, showing us its ancient splendor. The Faun’s house is the most important luxury residence of the Roman age that has survived to this day, and its grandeur shows the great wealth of the Roman noble class in the 2nd century A.D. Its extension covers nearly 3.000 square metres, and was built with advanced construction technics in 120 B.C. Owner’s name is unknow, the house was named for the bronze statue of the dancing faun located originally at the lip of the impluvium.
The house still saves evidences of the “Samnite style”, despite further interventions show the overlying of themost sumptuous styles of Pompeii. The house shows a big atrium adorned with slabs and a faux ionic colonnade. The small statue of the Faun stands out at the center of the impluvium From the atrium it is possible to follow, with a perspective view, the evolution of the house: the tablinum, the big dining-roomintended for guests and family dinners, the first garden, the exedra with mosaic, the second garden and the enclosure wall. Along the length of the atrium there are servant rooms and small shops, of which the access was guaranteed by a second alternative entrance, to protect residents’ privacy.