Villa Poppaea

The building of the Villa Poppaea is attributed to Nero's second wife. The evidence is slender -- the name of Poppaea on an amphorae found in the buiding.

Ongoing building and renovations to the villa were interrupted two thousand years ago by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. They are now frozen in time.

You can get to the villa on the Circumvesuviana rail line (circles Mount Vesuvius). It is at Torre Annunziata two stops after Herculaneum, and one stop before Pompeii.

Romans liked to paint their walls with illusionistic frames around pictures. They liked vivid colours and amusing details. Do you see that little square over the arch in this orange-painted wall?

A closer look reveals a charming musician.

Under the arch in the same orange wall is a gorgeously realistic Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides.

Bill and I had fun trying to capture the wall decorations.

The wall Bill is photographing is the wall on the left in this picture. This enormous room must have been overwhelmingly beautiful when it was first painted.

Here is another view of the room the Roman's called an atrium. The shallow pool is open to the sky.

Another example of architectural motif decoration with a closer look at the mask and peacock on the left.

The peristylium or "open courtyard" has a central fountain and the remains of chestnut tree that would have shaded the courtyard.

The chestnut tree is seen left of Bill as he moves along the portico.

Here is what remains of an elegant lararium or family shrine. It would have held images of the Lares, spirits who protected the fortune of the house. The Lares were worshipped daily.

This three-sided, colonnaded lawn faced the waters of the Bay of Naples and offered a quiet place for residents to relax. John and I imagined a pair of beach chairs for ourselves under a beach umbrella with little tables for cool drinks and books.

John searching for the delightful wall decorations that fill the house on the colonnade wall.

One of the smart, modern-looking, graphic designs on another wall.

Bill and I liked the look of this swimming pool. Large enough for lap swimming.

Steps down into the water.

The white wall by the pool featured these lovely floral images.

Birds, flowers and insects so delicately rendered.

We were deeply impressed by the richness of the frescoes

of garden plants and fountains in the guest rooms near the pool.

Poppaea would have been pleased that her taste has not gone out of style.