Pompeii - restored House of Vettii opens to the public

[marazul]

This is a really interesting house. It was owned by two former slaves who became very wealthy in the wine trade.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/newly-restored-house-pompeii-offers-glimpse-elite-life-rcna65067

[marazul]

Another article about the house. 

BBC News - House of the Vettii: Pompeii home owned by former slaves reopens
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64225813

[cruisemom42]

I remember reading about this house years ago on my first few visits to Pompeii -- it had been closed so long for restoration that no one actually thought it would ever open again. Then came the scandal about Pompeii's maintenance and questions about where all of the UNESCO funding was going....  Now buildings are opening up again, more each year.

 

I did get a chance to visit this house in February 2020, they must have closed it again once COVID hit to complete restorations, but it was a huge deal to me to see it. I actually went back again on my free afternoon to visit it again (along with my favorite house, the Domus of Julia Felix). As I was walking out, there was a woman at the gate selling watercolors of some of the frescoes in the House of the Vettii and I bought a couple of them -- I found them really well done.

 

Many people don't realize how fluid Roman society could be. In one generation you could go from slaves to wealthy freedmen with one of the more impressive houses in the city. Given another generation they could well have been part of the civic government.

 

The Entrance to the House (Domus)

 

 

The same fresco from one of the articles:

 

 

The cherubs I admired:

 

 

Amazing, rich use of color (some have said it is a bit nouveau-riche):