During our excursion to the Pompeii archaeological site, our tour group visited the Casa del Menandro, or House of Menander. Visitors enter the home from Vicolo del Menandro and arrive at the residence's atrium; after passing through the atrium, visitors can access the peristyle (open courtyard/garden surrounded by a colonnade). This photo was taken from the east side of the peristyle, facing the southwest corner of the courtyard garden.
A few details on the House of Menander:
This grand residence takes up most of a city block and is believed to have been built in the late 1st century A.D. Records suggest that the original owner of the house was named Quintus Poppeus, though some historians believe that a wealthy merchant or Roman tourist lived in the home at the time Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. The residence was named the ''House of Menander'' after a fresco of the playwright Menandro (Menander) that is featured in the central niche along the peristyle garden.
The residence featured more than a dozen rooms, including a series of rooms surrounding the atrium in the main house, a large peristyle (open courtyard/garden surrounded by a colonnade) with several niches along the back wall, and another cluster of rooms along the east side of the complex (including living areas off peristyle as well as storerooms, stables, a latrine, and servants quarters). The west side of the complex encompassed bath and kitchen areas, including a kitchen garden. (Click to view a floor plan of the house as well as a full-block map showing the house in relation to its neighboring buildings.)
Brief History of Pompeii
Pompeii was an ancient Roman city located in Italy's Campania region, southeast of the modern city of Naples. It is believed to have been founded by the Oscans in the 6th or 7th century B.C.; it came under Roman domination around the 4th century B.C., and officially became a Roman colony in 80 B.C. after an unsuccessful rebellion against the Roman Republic. It was an important trading center during the 1st century B.C. and 1st century A.D., with many wealthy merchants and a population of about 11,000. However, the life of the city and its inhabitants came to an abrupt halt on August 24, 79 A.D., when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the entire city in volcanic ash and pumice.
After the nearby city of Herculaneum was rediscovered in 1738, initial excavations of Pompeii began in 1748. The ruins of Pompeii have been drawing tourists almost since excavations first began, and the site currently attracts some 2.5 million visitors per year.
