Villa of the Mysteries

Villa of the Mysteries
Villa dei Misteri
	Villa of the Mysteries seen from above
	Location in Italy
Location	Pompeii, Italy
Region	Campania
Coordinates	40°45′13.3″N 14°28′38.8″E / 40.753694°N 14.477444°E
Type	Roman villa
History
Founded	2nd century BC
Abandoned	79 AD
Periods	Roman Republic, Roman Empire
Events	Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Site notes
Discovered	1909
Excavation dates	1909-1910, 1929-1930
Archaeologists	Aurelio Item, Giuseppe Spano, Amadeo Maiuri
Condition	Well-preserved
Ownership	Public
Management	Soprintendenza Pompei
Public access	Yes

The Villa of the Mysteries (Italian: Villa dei Misteri) is a well-preserved suburban ancient Roman villa on the outskirts of Pompeii, southern Italy. It is famous for the series of exquisite frescos in Room 5, which are usually interpreted as showing the initiation of a bride into a Greco-Roman mystery cult. These are now among the best known of the relatively rare survivals of Ancient Roman painting from the 1st century BC.

Like the rest of the Roman city of Pompeii, the villa was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was excavated from 1909 onwards. It is now a popular part of tourist visits to Pompeii and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Pompeii.