House of the Vettii

House of the Vettii (Casa dei Vettii ) is the modern name of a dwelling house of a wealthy family of merchants in ancient Pompeii (VI 15.1 ). The house is relatively small, but is designed representative and has significant wall paintings of the 4th style.

The ancient owners of the house were Aulus Vettius and Aulus Vettius Conviva Restitutus. Their names were found on two bronze seals in front of a treasure chest in the main atrium. The origin of these people is controversial. On the one hand it is assumed that it is a freedman Vettius, because freedmen, it was common that they assumed the family name of their patron. On the other hand, there is nothing that it is true Vettier whose members are widely used in Pompeii.

The main entrance of the house lay to the east, where you came from the vestibule into the fauces, where an image of Priapus was painted on the wall ( see picture). From there you came directly to the tuskanische atrium immediately opened at the front side for peristyle garden of the house, which was richly decorated with fountains and sculptures.

The service wing of the house was in the north with its own small atrium and another small peristyle.

The house is mainly known by for its murals. In the north of the great peristyle was a hall ( the Oecus ), whose walls have been painted in a black and red decoration of the 4th style and are among the finest works of their time ( see figure). In the east there was the garden, starting two triclinia. To the south lay the so-called Pentheus room, which was named after a large image of Pentheus on the back wall so. The paintings show great architectures in yellow framing. The Ixion Room is located in the north (named after a painting on the back wall, the Ixion shows ). This hall is also decorated with magnificent paintings of the 4th style.

The house was covered immediately after the excavation in 1894. The paintings are thus particularly well preserved. The house is one of the main attractions of Pompeii.

Murals

Wall paintings in the Ixion Room (reconstruction )

Section of the wall painting in the fourth style in Oecus

Daedalus and Pasiphae

Erotic representation in the cubicle

Wall painting in Oecus