THE IMPERIAL VILLA - POMPEII

This is one of the patrician houses which were built in the shelter of the town walls during the first imperial age. The various rooms of the residence are laid out in terraces descending the natural slope of the hill on which the town of Pompeii was founded and thus enjoy a fine view over the Gulf of Naples. The villa was destroyed by the earthquake of 62 A.D. and was never rebuilt although a number of significant features are still visible today: these include the 80-metre-long colonnade with its 43 columns. Although these are no longer intact, they were originally decorated with white stucco to create a fluted effect and stood out sharply against the rear wall with its black square panels (which were unfortunately removed during the 18th century). The colonnade led westwards into the villa’s residential quarters, which included a large living room and triclinium (measuring 6 metres by 8,80 metres), an alcove with windows looking out to sea, and several other small rooms. The vestibulum and the vault of the living room are embellished with rectangular and octagonal coffered decorations with bas-relief figures and fourth style ornamentation, whilst third style decoration was used for the three walls which are embellished with panel motifs and a frieze of cherubs and vine shoots in the lower section beneath the typical vermillion painted wall and small Greek-style frescoes of figures scenes framed inside niches. The rear wall depicts the legend of Theseus slaying the Minotaur: the left-hand wall portrays Theseus abandoning Ariadne while on the right-hand wall we can see the flight of Daedalus and the fall of Icarus. A series of small paintings with panel doors complete the decoration at the top.

 

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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 bath ... continue

(Apic. 7, 19, 3) Ingredients:

• 8 hard boiled eggs (not too well done - boil ca. 4 minutes)
• 50g stone-pine kernels
• 2 tblsp honey
• 3 tblsp vinegar
• pepper
• Privet
• Liquamen (or salt)

Instructions:
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Dressing for boiled eggs: Mix together pepper, Liebstoeckl, soaked pine
kernels. Add honey and vinegar and season with Liquamen. Serve together
with the eggs.

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.