SUBURBAN BATH - POMPEII

These stood just outside the town walls, which can be seen to the left on the road leading to the Porta Marina Gate, and possibly near a canal port, which is suggested by the mooring rings set in stone blocks. The baths are laid out on three levels and are now visible in all their former glory thanks to recent restoration work. The baths complex was not actually very big and was probably used by people coming from outside the town. The entrance hall stood on a terrace with colonnade which could be reached by a flight of stairs. All the rooms in the complex had window looking out over the Gulf of Naples and were laid out according to the classic criteria for the bathing chambers which here culminate in a large hot-water pool. Thus we find the entrance hall followed by the changing room (apodyterium), two rooms for taking cold baths (frigidarium) a heated chamber (tepidarium) which enabled bathers to get acclimatized to the change in temperature before entering the hot-water bath (calidarium). The walls of the changing room were decorated with eight fresco paintings of a highly erotic nature. This initially led archaeologists to the conclusion that this area must have been a brothel annexed to the bath, but this apparently obvious interpretation has been rejected in favour of another explanation. In this case, the erotic frescoes were probably a humorous method of reminding customers where they had left their clothes by assigning a number and an amusing painting to each of the various chambers.

 

Why do not you arrange with us an amazing day in the Gulf of Naples - a private tour (just for you) with a comfortable limousine or minivan with driver and an English-speaking tour guide? We have organized for you a great guided tour to Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento-Amalfi Coast (Positano). Contact us by e-mail info@pompeii.org.uk for further info.

This building is clearly visible from the sea as it is situated on the promontory of the hill of Pompeii and commands a wide view over the plain below. Passing along Via dell’Abbondanza to the end of Via dei Teatri we find a portico with three Ionic columns and a semicolumn which form the entrance to the Triangular Forum. The Hellenistic style arrangement of the area, which has a colonnade with 95 columns, dates back to the 2nd century B.C. This intervention created a harmonious protective curtain around the pre-existing Doric Temple and at the same time annexed this sacred area to the theatre district and the two gymnasiums as the foursided portico behind the stage of ... continue

(Apic. 2, 4) Ingredients:

• 1 duck
• 25 g pine nuts
• 2 big dates
• ground pepper
• 1 tblsp privet
• 1 tblsp cumin
• 1 tblsp dry coriander
• 1 tblsp dry mint
• 1 tblsp oregano
• 1 tblsp ground mustard
• 1 tblsp oil
• 1 tblsp honey
• Liquamen or 3 tblsp soya sauce
• 3 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 glass wine (Marsala)
• 1 tsp vinegar
• salt

Instructions:
-------------
Cut in part the duck cutting off fat and bones. Put in a large and low c ... continue

Love was a common topic of conversation in Pompeii. Feelings, passions, poetic love, sex, homosexuality, prostitution and so forth were all part of daily life and not a source of prejudice. The concept of “obscenity” seems to have been unknown. Love and sex were considered earthly practices of a man’s life that were encouraged by the benevolence of Venus. The thousands of examples of graffiti found on the town’s walls are unequivocal proof of what the people of Pompeii thought about love and sex.