House of the Vettii

The House of the Vettii is a domus located in the Roman town Pompeii, which was preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house is named for its owners, two successful freedmen: Aulus Vettius Conviva, an Augustalis, and Aulus Vettius Restitutus.^[1] Its careful excavation^[2] has preserved almost all of the wall frescos, which were completed following the earthquake of 62 AD, in the manner art historians term the Pompeiian Fourth Style. The House of Vetti is located in region VI, near the Vesuvian Gate, bordered by the Vicolo di Mercurio and the Vicolo dei Vettii. The house is one of the largest domus in Pompeii, spanning the entire southern section of block 15.^[3] The plan is fashioned in a typical Roman domus with the exception of a tablinum, which is not included. There are twelve mythological scenes across four cubiculum and one triclinium. The house was reopened to tourists in January 2023 after two decades of restoration.^[4]

^ Their identity was preserved in campaign-slogan graffiti on the street front of the house. Two inscribed signet rings were also found.
^ The House of the Vettii was not one of the eighteenth-century discoveries, which were rifled for their museum-worthy objects. It was excavated between September 1894 and January 1896. There is evidence that the house was disturbed, perhaps looted, shortly after the eruption.
^ Beth, Severy-Hoven (November 2012). "Master Narratives and the Wall Painting of the House of the Vettii". Gender & History. 24 (3): 540–580. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0424.2012.01697.x. S2CID 53518290.
^ Feldman, Ella (10 January 2023). "See the Lavish Pompeii Home Owned by Two Men Freed From Slavery". Smithsonian. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

[1] Their identity was preserved in campaign-slogan graffiti on the street front of the house. Two inscribed signet rings were also found.

[2] The House of the Vettii was not one of the eighteenth-century discoveries, which were rifled for their museum-worthy objects. It was excavated between September 1894 and January 1896. There is evidence that the house was disturbed, perhaps looted, shortly after the eruption.

[3] Beth, Severy-Hoven (November 2012). "Master Narratives and the Wall Painting of the House of the Vettii". Gender & History. 24 (3): 540–580. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0424.2012.01697.x. S2CID 53518290.

[4] Feldman, Ella (10 January 2023). "See the Lavish Pompeii Home Owned by Two Men Freed From Slavery". Smithsonian. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

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