Studio39Designs

 

Private Home in Pompeii

It’s incredible to think that anything could still be left standing after 2,000 years and being buried in over 20 feet of pyroclastic volcanic ash, but there was at least one private home that was remarkably intact, so that we could get an idea of what life was like for the wealthy individuals in Pompeii.

Roman Influence – Private Home Entry

At the doorway to the home, there was a bit of an arch that clearly showed the influence of Roman design and architecture.

Bench Outside Front Door

If someone came to visit the owner of this house, common practice was for the person to wait on the bench until the owner was ready for the individual to enter.  You can see the seat, covered by bits of green moss, and then wall behind it.  The interesting thing about the wall is that you can see part of the wall that is still a fresco wall, painted in red.  Altho just about all the walls now are stone or brick, I guess back when Pompeii was active, all the walls were fresco walls, painted in various colors and designs.  I think the stone and brick is impressive – I can’t even imagine what all fresco walls would look like!

Light Shining In

I really like this image.  We are inside the house and there was a stairway heading up to what must have been a second floor.  I just loved the look of the light from the window shining in, and all the texture from the walls and steps.

Fresco Wall Art

Here’s an idea of what the fresco walls looked like, back in the day.  The décor in the house was apparently done using this technique.

Outside Garden Wall Art

In the center of the house, was a sort of enclosed yard or garden.  Along the wall encircling the yard/garden there is still some fresco wall art that is visible.  I love the look of the painted ferns.

Private Bath House

Altho there were certainly public bath houses in Pompeii, if one was wealthy enough, one could have his own personal bath in his own home.  The entrance to this bath house/room was off the central open area of the house.  It was interesting to see how the home was set up – or at least, to get an idea about it!

Owner Portrait

This is believed to be a portrait of the person that once owned this house, painted as a fresco on one of the walls of some little niches along one side of the open yard/garden area.  I found it amazing how vibrant the colors still are.  I did not enhance the colors in any way, as I was trying to capture images as realistic as possible.  They are incredible anyway!

Deer Drinking

Here’s another piece of fresco wall art.  It’s not as easy to determine what the overall painting is, but one thing that’s fairly easy to determine is the deer (or some animal) drinking from what is probably a river.  I really loved the colors in this piece.  Altho this part of the scene looks peaceful, the overall piece is supposed to be of the goddess, Diana, and an admirer, who is being attacked by some dogs (or wolves?).  Kind of a gruesome subject for wall décor for one’s home, but keep in mind, times were very, very different from current day.

Floor Art

In addition to fresco’s on the walls, homes also could, and in this case, did have mosaic art work on the floor.  This piece was along the walkway that surrounded the inner yard/garden.

Dining Room

This room was believed to be a dining room.  Notice how decorated all the walls were.  Excavators discovered some apparent rooms below the floor of this room (lower left of the image), but it’s not known what these rooms may have been used for. 

Hall Wall Art

Here’s yet another example of art for the walls in the home.  It was apparent that they had fresco’s painted on their walls much like we hang pictures or paintings on our walls.  It was difficult at times to remember these people lived and were this developed almost 2,000 years ago!

Bright Light

Here was another small room, opposite of the stairway that was highlighted earlier in this posting.  There was no stairway in this room, and it is unknown what the room may have been used for.  It seemed too small to be any sort of guest bedroom.  Perhaps a formal receiving room or office?  Who knows?

It was interesting to note that we really didn’t see an array of bedrooms in this home.  There was one (photo not included – it was decorated much like the dining room and was located next to it) that it is thought may have been a guest bedroom.  No one said so, but perhaps that stairway we saw early on in our tour of this home led the way upstairs to the bedrooms there.

Enjoy!