HOUSE OF THE ANCIENT HUNT - POMPEII

On Via della Fortuna, a short distance from the House of the Faun heading towards the Porta di Nola gate, we find a house named after the large and evocative fresco on the garden wall depicting a mountain landscape where an ancient hunt for wild beasts is in progress. It is a house of Samnite origin and contains some fine example of fourth style decoration. Personifications of autumn and winter are depicting on the walls of the second cubiculum on the right portray mythological subjects. On the left we can see Leda and the Swan, portrayed amid medallion with the busts of Jupiter and Diana and, on the right, Venus fishing between Mercury and Apollo. In the tablinum we find Nile landscapes with Pygmies, cherubs hunting wild beasts and a highly effective depiction of carpets and pieces of cloth billowing in the wind. The exedra opposite the garden is embellished with fantastic architectures and lavish ornamental motifs in which we can see Diana bathing as Actaeon watches, and Apollo in the background with a shepherd.

 

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 is the most famous country villa in the whole area around Mount Vesuvius. It can be reached on foot by following the modern road for a short way after leaving the Pompeii archaeological site proper (keep your ticket as this is also valid for entry to the Villa of Mysteries). The current entrance to the Villa is on the opposite side to the original portal which was situated about 400 metres from the Porta Ercolano gate along the road leading out of the town. The villa owes its fame to the extraordinary wall paintings in the triclinium which make up an almost photographic sequence of theatrical scenes. The building can be divided into two areas. The main area is e ... continue

(Apic. 4, 2, 12) Ingredients:

• Leftovers of cooked fish
• 5 grains pepper
• 5 leaves rue
• Liquamen (or 2 tblsp soya sauce + 2 tsp anchovy paste)
• 2 tblsp oil
• 2 eggs
• Seaweed

Instructions:
-------------
Finely chop enough baked or boiled fish to fill a casserole dish of the size you want to use. Pulverize pepper and rue, add Liquamen, oil and raw eggs, then whip. Pour the mixture over the fish and mesh. Gently place sea nettles on top, taking care to see they do not mix with the eggs. Cook by steaming so that the seaweed ... 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.