House of Octavius Quartio (Reg II, Ins 2, 2)

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.. The entrance leads to a large atrium with an artificial impluvium surrounded by a border for plants. The picture (right) is of a room in the house. .. ,, Two cubicula open off the peristyle while opposite there is an oecus. At the eastern end of the 'T' shaped canal (pictured above) is a biclinium for outdoor dining. Some of it is still extant; a fountain flanked by two frescos. .. The subjects of both frescos - Narcissus at the Spring (pictured right) and Pyramus committing Suicide (below right) - share a common theme: death brought on by passion. Oddly enough, the signature of the painter, a man named Lucius, has been preserved on a bench in the biclinium. .. .. Twelve statues of various subjects, some of Egyptian style, were found along the transverse canal, flanked by two rows of columns and piers that supported a pergola. .. The principal arm of the canal which is over 50m long was fed by a nymphaeum set under a small tetrastyle temple (pictured above). .. Traces of roots found in the soil indicate that the whole garden had regular rows of trees and plants.

This house is also known as the House of Loreius Tiburtinus. It was first excavated in 1916. It is an impressive building with an extensive garden to the rear. The entrance, with its seating for the patrons clients, is flanked by two shops (originally two rooms of the property). .. The atrium opens directly onto a small peristyle (above left) which in turn leads onto a porticoed garden with a 'T' shaped canal bordered with statuary. ..

House of Venus in the Shell (Reg II, Ins 3, 3)

This house is situated on the Via dell'Abbondanza. Also known as the House of D. Lucretii Satrii Valentes, it was still being restored when Vesuvius erupted in AD79. It was excavated between 1933-35, but was subsequently damaged by bombing during World War II in 1943. It was re-excavated and restored in 1952. ..

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.. The picture above is of the peristyle of the house. The rear wall of the peristyle can be glimpsed beyond the shrubbery left of centre in the photograph. .. .. The photograph directly above is a detail of a bird taken from a another much larger fresco found in the house.

The photograph (above right) is of the atrium with its impluvium and a view through to the peristyle beyond. To the right of the atrium, a room contains fine frescoes painted on a black background. .. On the rear wall of the peristyle are three large paintings set on a blue background: the left-hand painting is of the god Mars standing on the plinth while the central painting (pictured above) is of Venus lying in a conch shell with a nymph either side of her. The right-hand painting (below) is of flowers and birds drinking at a fountain. ..

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House of Julia Felix (Reg II, Ins 4, 2)

First excavated between 1754-57, the house was subsequently re-buried after much damage had been done. It was re-excavated and restored in 1952-53. The house and gardens occupy one of the largest plots in Pompeii, taking up almost a third of an entire block.

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The private baths were extensive, offering a waiting room, a dressing room (apodyterium), followed by tepidarium, laconicum and caldarium with finally an open area for bathing. .. . To the rear of the property was an extensive porticoed garden. The western portico is particularly elegant with its slender Corinthian pillars pictured in the two photographs directly above. The portico retains some of its original frescoes though many have been removed witness the bare gaps in the frescoed walls.

A notice offering two parts of the owner's property for rent (private baths and shops with living quarters) was found on the front of the property and is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. .. .. The other part of the property for rent consisted of rooms about the house, a tavern with triclinium and bedroom, shops, and a small living area on the second floor. .. The photograph (bolow) is of a second style fresco depicting a still life with a glass bowl of fruit found in the villa. It is no longer in-situ, but can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.. .. ..

House of Trebius Valens (Reg III, Ins 2, 1)

.. The interior was excavated after restoration work in 1952. The atrium is fairly plain, but it is the unusual checkered polychrome decoration of the back wall of the garden, glimpsed through the tablinum, that catches the eye (left). The paintings in the house are mainly in the third style while one of the bedrooms is decorated in the second style. In the garden, against the checkerboard decorated wall (right), is the summer triclinium sheltered by a pergola. It is served from the kitchen via a special service-hatch.

The House of Aulus Trebius Valens lies on the north side of Via dell Abbondanza and was first excavated during 1915. ,, ,.. The facade of the building held evidence of several electoral graffiti together with adverts for events at the amphitheatre. Unfortunately the facade and much of the front area of the building was destroyed by a bomb in 1943. Only a few graffiti remain (above). ..

House of the Silver Wedding (Reg V, Ins 2, i)

Also known as the House of L. Albucius Celsus this house was first excavated in 1893, the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of the reigning Italian royal family. Built in the 2nd century BC, it retains much of its original layout. The atrium is especially monumental: with its four tall Corinthian columns around a large impluvium it is generally considered to be the finest tetrastyle in Pompeii. The photograph on the right clearly shows the sheer height of the atrium and the rooms off it.
	The tablinum lies directly opposite the atrium while to the left is the triclinium which opens onto the peristyle.
	To the right was the service wing with kitchen, a bath suite (comprising caldarium, apodyterium, tepidarium and a pool in the garden behind serving as a frigidarium) and lastly the summer triclinium. Off the peristyle are several rooms decorated in the second style including the cubiculum pictured left, while towards the south, the house opens onto an even larger peristyle with an open air triclinium.

House of M. Lucretius Fronto (Reg V, Ins 4, 11)

.. In the tablinum can be seen the Triumph of Bacchus and the Marriage of Venus and Mars (pictured above). In the room to the right are several notable paintings including Narcissus at the Spring (pictured right) and Pero nursing his elderly father. The triclinium contains several frescos: Orestes Slaying Neoptolemus, Theseus and Ariadne and the Toilet of Venus. At the rear of the garden is a large African landscape.

This house lies in an alley off the Via di Nola close to the limits of the currently excavated area. The house is one of the most interesting and refined of the small domus from the imperial age, with spectacular paintings in the third style. Much of the house is in a good state of preservation. ..

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