Skip to playerSkip to main content
Discovery Uncharted
Pompeii was one of the most infamous cities of the ancient Roman Empire—a place of wealth, decadence, and breathtaking beauty, frozen in time by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Buried under layers of volcanic ash, this once-thriving city remained lost for centuries until archaeologists uncovered its secrets.

One of the most astonishing discoveries is the House of the Vettii, a lavish Roman mansion once owned by freed slaves-turned-wealthy wine merchants, Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva. Now restored, this luxurious villa offers a haunting glimpse into the opulence and excess of Pompeii’s elite. Adorned with stunning frescoes, grand courtyards, and eerie remnants of its past, the House of the Vettii stands as a time capsule of ancient Rome’s splendor—and its tragic end.

In this video, we take you on an exclusive tour through one of Pompeii’s most famous and mysterious mansions, uncovering the dark history, hidden symbolism, and breathtaking artistry that make it one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the world.

#Pompeii #HouseOfTheVettii #AncientRome #LostHistory #Archaeology #RomanEmpire #History #Mansion #hauntedhistory

Special Thanks To Whitesands For A Musical Addition
Please head to his channel and subscribe !
https://www.youtube.com/@WhitesandComposer/videos
Composer: Whitesand (Martynas Lau)
Year: 2025
Title: Eternals
Patreon: / whitesand
Donation: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/White...
Instagram - / whitesand_music
Discord - / discord

License Information
The Newest Opening at Pompeii: House of the Vettii by Ancient Rome Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yzoP7KM_80
Original Is licensed under Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Please head to their channel and subscribe ! https://www.youtube.com/@AncientRomeLive

Category

😹
Fun
Transcript
00:00Pompeii was one of the most infamous cities of the ancient Roman Empire, a place of wealth,
00:05decadence, and breathtaking beauty, frozen in time by one of history's most catastrophic disasters.
00:11Founded in the 7th or 6th century BC, this thriving metropolis of nearly 15,000 people
00:17flourished as a bustling trade hub, its streets lined with dark pagan temples, vibrant markets,
00:23and lavish villas. But in 79 AD, disaster struck. When Mount Vesuvius erupted, a massive cloud of
00:31superheated ash and pumice rained down on the city, burying it in an instant. Thousands perished where
00:37they stood, their bodies encased in layers of volcanic debris. Over time, their forms decayed,
00:43leaving behind eerie, hollow cavities in the hardened ash, natural death masks of Pompeii's final moments.
00:50Archaeologists later filled these voids with plaster, revealing the hauntingly detailed figures
00:55of men, women, and children frozen in their last desperate attempts to escape. Among the most
01:01extraordinary ruins left behind is the House of the Vettii, an opulent mansion once owned by two
01:06freed slaves, Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, who rose from bondage to become
01:13wealthy wine merchants. Their home, adorned with vivid frescoes, ornate courtyards, and extravagant
01:19banquet halls, offers a rare glimpse into the luxurious lifestyles of Pompeii's elite. Now,
01:25join us as we step back in time and explore the astonishing remains of the House of the Vettii,
01:30one of Pompeii's most breathtaking treasures.
01:32We're here in Region 6, Block 15, and this is a large house by Pompeian standards, 1100 square meters.
01:45Originally, there was a much older house here that was extensively restored in the Augustan period,
01:52removing the typical tiblinum, or reception hall, to be found in the atrium space.
01:56And then, with new ownership, it was redecorated by the Vettii after 62, when the earthquake that rocked the city.
02:08And we know from their names that they were freedmen, Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus,
02:17and they're typically referred to as brothers, but they could have been freed at the same time
02:23from the Gaines Vettia that was living in Pompeii. Now, their names appear on site on bronze seals and
02:32graffiti throughout the house, which was excavated between 1894 and 1895. Much has been made of the
02:41decorative plan that they would have overseen, and many scholars have commented on their freedmen status
02:49and their taste in art. Scholars typically define the frescoes that the Vettii commissioned as fourth
02:57style Pompeian wall paintings. What's important for us is that we explore these scenes that have
03:04underlying images, countless scenes from daily life, and extraordinary myths depicting the divine
03:13reward of the gods and their brutal punishment. Just down the street from the Castellum Akwai,
03:20you have the house of the Vettii, and this is truly a magnificent triumph of conservation work.
03:26It's a site that was closed for 20 years, and what's so impressive about it is the level of
03:29conservation. What's also impressive about it is that you have whole cycles preserved in situ. What
03:36normally happens with so many of the famous houses discovered from Pompeii is that you have those
03:41individual central panels ripped out and finding their way into private collections, finding their
03:46way into the Bourbon collections, and into the Museum of Naples. Instead, we have by and large the majority
03:53of the artwork from top to bottom preserved on site, and at the end of 20 years of
03:59restoration, we have a triumph and an amazing experience that really is unparalleled for
04:06anywhere else in Pompeii. And this is a site that's going to be open daily, and it's another example
04:13of the incredible work that's being done in Pompeii. So much of it now is geared toward the conservation
04:18work, and there's so much more of Pompeii that you can explore today, but this one, this site of House of
04:24the Vedii is one that you must see. Let's explore the House of the Vedii. We enter through the phalcase,
04:34which would be the entry point into the house, and we are greeted by this figure, the fertility god,
04:40who is often shown with an erect penis. Now, part of the reason that you have Priapus depicted as such
04:48is because he is a god of fertility, but he's also with the phallus warding off the evil eye. And then
04:55the owner and the art program has now begun. It's also a way not just of eliciting laughter from the
05:02guest, and laughter wards off the evil eye, but it's also a way to measure in the value of the Vedii.
05:10The member is being weighed on a scale against the bag of money, and the bag of money is associated
05:20with the god of commerce, and that's a deity that's going to be frequently depicted throughout the
05:25House of the Vedii. In fact, there's a marble version in the peristyle court in the back, so we
05:32have lots of themes repeated throughout the experience of the House of the Vedii. After the entryway,
05:38we're in the atrium space, and this is the main hall of any Roman house. So just past the entrance,
05:45you're stepping to a place which is grand and monumental. With a hole in the roof, we have the
05:51compluvium-impluvium section to gather and store the rainwater. And you've got a staircase that leads
05:59up to the upper floors, which are not preserved, and you have a whole series of beautifully decorated rooms
06:06surrounding the atrium space to accommodate guests, even serving as cubicula or bedrooms.
06:12You also have prominently in the atrium the remains of two strong boxes or treasuries
06:18once made in bronze, attesting to the wealth of the owners. And you also have several scenes of daily life,
06:27of slave attendants, of guests, of possibly the owners of the house. And on one side, you have the entrance
06:37into the area where slaves would be doing their work, managing the household. And in that space,
06:44there is the lararium, the household shrine. And on the other side, you have what has been identified as a winter
06:53triclinium. And here you have countless scenes and so many of his myths surrounding you as you dined.
07:02And the key background color is white. It is a glorious example of the level of restoration
07:10that we see in the house of the Vedii.
07:12Leaving the atrium space, we go to the first room off the Perostyle Court. And this is one of the most
07:24magnificent rooms in all of Pompeii. One of the greatest rooms in the house of the Vedii. Look at those colors.
07:32It's a place reserved for dining. It's a triclinium room. And when we take a look at representations of
07:43dining, we see that people are reclining on the clini. There are three of them. And you'd be served
07:49your meal by slaves. And you'd be looking at the art and commenting on it. Well, in this room,
07:57there's plenty to talk about. Number one, you have incredible framework for the main scenes. You have
08:04lots of little vignettes as well. But your attention would have been drawn to the three central panels.
08:11Let's take a look at the first one on the far wall that gives the name to the room, the Ixion room.
08:17And this is telling the story of Ixion, the King of the Lapiths.
08:21And he was punished. But Ixion himself was sent down to the underworld, placed on a burning spinning
08:30wheel for all of eternity. And this scene is the scene of Daedalus and Pacify. And the story goes
08:38that Minas received a beautiful bull from the sea god, but didn't sacrifice it. So he was punished.
08:46In what way? His wife, Pacify, became lustful after this bull and wanted to make love to it.
08:54So Daedalus, the craftsman, constructed a wooden cow that Pacify could slip into and then make love to
09:02the bull. And you see here in this scene, the actual wooden bull, you see Pacify, you see Daedalus,
09:09who's constructed, and his son Icarus, ultimately doomed to fly too close to the sun and crash down
09:17into the sea. So you have lots of story threads that are being able to be drawn together just from
09:24one scene. This is the scene of Ariadne, who had been abandoned by Theseus. Ariadne had helped Theseus
09:34defeat the Minotaur in the labyrinth in Crete. And that Minotaur was the offspring of Pacify and the bull.
09:42So you have so many different connective threads and the overlying examination of the relationships
09:50between mortals and the gods and that interaction between them.
09:56As noted before, there is no tablinum space off the atrium. This room, the oikis or reception hall
10:06for entertainment and dining, probably was the stand-in for the tablinum space. And it is
10:12magnificent. It's large and impressive, accommodating lots of people. One of the great standout features
10:18in this room is the small frieze that encircles the entire space. There are these wonderful mythological
10:28scenes of figures acting out scenes from real life, from making and selling floral crowns and garlands,
10:38to making perfumes from the extract of oil from flowers, to treating woolen cloth in the guise of fullers.
10:49These are incredible windows into the real activities that took place in the city of Pompeii and Roman cities,
11:00and quite possibly were attached to the work of the vettii themselves.
11:07Now let's turn to the peristyle, a garden space surrounded by columns. It was a place
11:12for having a stroll after a meal. It was a place to enjoy nature. And this space today has been
11:20landscaped anew based upon a precious study of the environment. And of course, you have the remains of
11:26many marble artifacts, including fountains and statuary. And if you look down, you can even see the
11:34extensive remains of lead piping. The walls surrounding the peristyle are beautifully decorated as well.
11:43And at the base of all the walls, you have a continual rendering of plants,
11:49alternated with fountains, with water gushing off the top.
11:54House of the Vettii is extraordinary, and it is attributed to the two Vettii brothers,
12:00who come into quite a bit of fortune. And what they do is they have extensive redecoration,
12:06and the fresco cycles are some of the most interesting and the best preserved in all of Pompeii.
12:13So what you have are incredibly rich details of mythological cycles. You have an incredible array
12:21of active cupids in scenes from daily life, and you have overall an experience that brings you back in
12:29time to the time of the Pompeians right before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79.
12:35In the peristyle court of the house of the Vettii, brilliant colors and scenes of daily life.
12:47And then you have a beautifully reconstituted peristyle garden with plantings and casts of the
12:55original statuary today in the museum in Naples. Makes for an incredible experience.
13:02And what is also so special is the vibrant colors that are preserved in red and also yellow.
13:15Here we are in another fascinating triclinium space off the peristyle court, and the program
13:21of the mythological scenes is going to be very much related to those in the room of Ixion.
13:27Here you have a room with so many different myths. It's exciting.
13:40And you have the punishment of Dursey.
13:47There's a marble version of this from the house of Caracalla in the Naples Museum.
13:51It becomes very obvious then with this brief examination of the house of the Vettii just how
13:59sophisticated the programmatic display was with statuary, with the architecture, and of course with
14:07the frescoes. And so many of the themes in the house of the Vettii focused on the punishment of those
14:14mortals that challenged the gods who disobeyed the gods. Hope you join us again for more exploration
14:22of the house of the Vettii and other houses of Pompeii. There's so much more to explore in this wonderful
14:28ancient city. Hey, I'm Darius Aria for Ancient Rome Live. We bring you antiquity throughout the Mediterranean
14:36daily Pompeii, Rome, throughout the Mediterranean.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment

Recommended

Pompeii's Greatest Treasures episode 1
CDh6
4 years ago
Incredible Trojan War decorations uncovered at Pompeii, Italy
Australian Community Media
2 years ago
Pompeii shows off new treasures in Antiquarium museum
Agence France-Presse
5 years ago
Pompeii - Life and Death in a Roman Town
CDh5Full
6 years ago
What Life Was Like In Pompeii During Ancient Rome's Glory Days Lost Treasures
Samuel Fly
2 years ago
BBC Pompeii The Last Day XviD AC3
Dghtrd Derd2016
10 years ago
Discovered by Accident! Ancient Sacred Well of Sardinia
Mr. Devotor
8 months ago
From ancient pizzas to snake shrines: Take a look around this recently excavated home in Pompeii
euronews (in English)
2 years ago
Nero’s grand palace reopens: Visitors can now explore the legendary Domus Aurea
euronews (in English)
10 months ago
Pompeii: The Mystery of the People Frozen in Time - Documentary
Fdreyb Nbhgyt2016
10 years ago
Trove of jewels and charms found at Pompeii give insight into 'female world' of Ancient Rome
euronews (in English)
6 years ago
Frozen in Time: The Devastating Eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
FactFusion by Nain
1 year ago
Pompeii: New discoveries lift lid on lives of Roman city's middle class
euronews (in English)
3 years ago
1800’s Lost Cemetery In Front Of Derelict Abandoned Buildings - Original Owners Graves
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
The Extremely Dangerous Jade Green Tree MambaThe Extremely Dangerous Jade Green Tree Mamba 🐍 — sleek, arboreal, and oh-so striking! Highly Venomous! The emerald ghost of the trees 🐍💚#SnakeTok #NatureVibes #ViralReptile
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
Lost Footage Of 9/11 Woman Narrowly Escapes Cloud Of Death
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
Viper Hiding On The Forest Floor The Gaboon viper is native to sub-Saharan Africa and is known for its distinctive broad, leaf-shaped head with a pale center stripe, geometric brown and tan body pattern, and very thick body.
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
Searching For The Catacombs Under USC - Exploring Abandoned Tunnels Under City and University
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
The Varna Necropolis - Ancient City Of The Dead And Varna Man. The discovery of the world's oldest gold was made at the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria. The Varna Man, an ancient chief or king, is the ancestor of all modern Europeans.
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
Hidden Tunnel Entrance Discovered Under Babcock Insane Asylum
Discovery Uncharted
2 months ago
Searching For The Lost City Of Atlantis
Discovery Uncharted
3 months ago
Exploring The Dark Forest
Discovery Uncharted
3 months ago
Abandoned Temple Of Preah Khan - Ancient Mystery Of The Lost Ruins Cambodia
Discovery Uncharted
3 months ago
The Dyatlov Pass Mystery Has Finally Been Solved - The Truth Is Shocking
Discovery Uncharted
3 months ago
The REAL History Behind Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark - The Mystery Of The Lost Ark
Discovery Uncharted
3 months ago