House in Pompeii Provides Look at Life in Ancient Roman City

House in Pompeii Provides Look at Life in Ancient Roman City

A newly restored house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii opened to the public on Tuesday. The House of Vettii, or Domus Vettiorum, as it is called in Latin, had gone through 20 years of repair and improvement.

The house likely belonged to two former slaves who became rich through the wine trade. The house offers visitors a look at everyday life in Pompeii. The city was buried by volcanic¹ ash from Mount Vesuvius in the year 79.

The restoration of the home is yet another sign of the rebirth of Pompeii.

"The House of the Vetti is like the history of Pompeii and actually of Roman society within one house," said Pompeii's director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel. He spoke² as he displayed the home's Cupid Rooms last month. He said it shows the last period of Pompeian-made wall paintings called frescoes⁴.

"You can stand before these images for hours and still discover new details," Zuchtriegel said. He described the home as "a story about the social life of the Pompeiian society and actually the Roman world in this phase of history."

The restoration of the frescoes involved a new, better method using wax.

Zuchtriegel thinks the fresco³ paintings show "the dreams and imagination and anxieties of the owners because they lived between these images.''

And who were these owners? The Vettis were two men — Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus. Pompeii experts say they were once enslaved men who were later freed. It is believed that they became wealthy through the wine trade. Some think the two were brothers.

In the living room, known as the Hall of Pentheus, a fresco shows an image of the imaginary character Hercules as a child. He is crushing two snakes. In ancient stories, the goddess Hera sent snakes to kill Hercules.

Perhaps the Vettius men saw their own life story in the image of Hercules who overcame great difficulties. This possibility interests Zuchtriegel.

The men "tried to show their new status also through culture," he said, adding "it's all about saying, ‘We've made it and so we are part of this elite⁵.'"

Architect Arianna Spinosa is director of the restoration. She said it represents the perfect Pompeii home, because of both the frescoes and the architecture.

The house was discovered in the late 19th century. It was closed in 2002 for urgent restoration work. After a partial reopening in 2016, it was closed again in 2020 for the final phase of the work, which included restoration of the frescoes, floor and structural⁶ elements.

Words in This Story

restore — v. to return (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing it, cleaning it, etc.

society — n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values

anxiety — v. fear or nervousness about what might happen

status — n. the position or rank of someone or something when compared to others in a society, organization, group, etc.

elite — n. the people who have the most wealth and status in a society : the most successful or powerful group of people

1 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。

4 frescoes   

n.壁画( fresco的名词复数 )；温壁画技法，湿壁画

参考例句：

• The Dunhuang frescoes are gems of ancient Chinese art. 敦煌壁画是我国古代艺术中的瑰宝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The frescoes in these churches are magnificent. 这些教堂里的壁画富丽堂皇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

6 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。