Once the home of Poppaea, wife of the Emperor Nero, this villa was the perfect elite holiday home, complete with bath house, gardens, guest suite and swimming pool.
Located in modern Torre Annunziata, the Villa Poppaea is one of two elite villas belonging to Roman Oplontis, a small town whose name survives on the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient map of Roman imperial roads.
Discovered in 1964, the villa was excavated over the next twenty years to reveal an otium style villa, an elite holiday home used as a summer retreat from the oppression of the city. The style and extent of the building suggested it was an important residence and it was linked to Poppaea Sabina, second wife of the Emperor Nero whose native town was nearby Pompeii.
The oldest part of the house, which follows the classic atrium style, dates to the mid first century AD. However, after this date, presumably as a result of a change of ownership after Nero’s death, a series of extensions occurred on the property which were still in progress at the time of Vesuvius’s eruption of 79AD.
The Original House
Throughout its history, the original house remained the core residential area. At its centre was the atrium, the traditional reception room in a roman house. The atrium of the villa Poppaea had the usual roof top opening, the conpluvium which allowed rainwater to be collected in a central pool, the impluvium, which was once the household’s main water supply.
However, the main function of the atrium of the Villa Poppaea was to impress. A vast room, its perspective was increased by the use of 2nd style murals, which incorporated landscapes and mythological scenes within a framework of columns and porticos which increase the scale of the room. Immediately opposite the entrance would have been a series of folding doors which when opened up to overlook a small peristyle garden.
The rest of the original house was constructed around the atrium. The rooms immediately surrounding it were lavishly decorated and designed to be seen.
- Cubiculum or bedrooms were traditionally situated around the atrium and the Villa of Poppaea is no exception. Alcoves were provided for beds but there would have been little more furniture in these small rooms. However, they were lavishly decorated in 2nd style typified throughout the houseOne notable feature that still remains are the folding window shutters which remain preserved as they were at the time of the eruption, half open to allow in air.
- To the north east of the atrium was the Lararium, a sizeable room containing the shrines of the household’s gods. This room would have been the centre of household worship. The lararium was accessible from its east and west sides, with its westernmost entrance overlooking a small internal peristyle with an internal garden and fountain in its centre. Close by this are rooms for servants, an unusual feature in a house of this status which would usually have had a separate servant’s wing. This general accessibility emphasizes the importance of the lararium to the household as a whole.
- To the east of the atrium is the original large peristyle garden. Confined by the house, with colonnaded porticos on 3 sides, it probably remained the private retreat of the owners, unlike the enormous northern gardens which were for general use when the house was occupied and through which the public now enter
- The most impressive room lies to the far west of the atrium. Leading off from a small internal room identified as a dining room, it probably served as a summer dining room, as a large door could have been opened up to offer views to the sea. It features murals in the 2nd style, the architectural features serving as frames for motifs, this time peacocks and theatrical masks as well as emblems of the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. The mural which is remarkable undamaged, is impressively vibrant still.
- The far north west of the house was dedicated to ancillary features such as the kitchen. The bath suite was also located in this area, probably for convenience. Two rooms exist, the calidarium (hot room) and tepidarium (warm room). In the hot room, tegulae mammatae, hollow terracotta slabs incorporated into the walls joined with suspensurae, brick pillars supporting the floor, to create a conduit for warm air that would have flowed around the whole room. The warm room had only the under floor heating, no doubt to ensure the necessary cooler temperature. Both rooms were decorated in yellow, red and black in 2nd style.
- The latrines, however, were not in this area but the far north east of the old house, well away from the public rooms. They connect via a series of corridors to the new wing of the house, making them accessible to guests and residents alike.
The Extension of the Villa Poppaea
This area was primarily recreational, centering on the swimming pool and large northern gardens. Overlooking the pool, a series of guest suites were added, each with their own sitting rooms and viridarium, a small enclosed internal garden.
- The pool. 61 x17 m, set within landscaped gardens on one side, the pool was tilted to the south end to allow water to drain away. Many fine examples of Roman sculpture were found flanking this area. A portico ran along the western side, facing onto a series of guest suites.
- The guest bedrooms. Compared to the décor of the public room, these were plainly decorated in blocks of colour: white at the top and yellow, red or back at the bottom. However, each room was accompanied by a sitting room, with niches for statues. Connecting each bedroom and sitting room was an indoor viridariumThese small interior gardens were enclosed by walls lavishly painted with horticultural scenes. Interior windows allowed them to be overlooked from the sitting room of guest room.
- Finally, opening onto the northern gardens was an expansive dining/sitting room. Its unpainted walls are a testament to its unfinished state. Magnificent though it is, what remains to us of the Villa Poppaea are the fragment of a work in progress.
Sources
Guide to Oplontis by Soprintendenza Archaologica Di Pompei
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
