- Charlene Anne Rodrigues
- BBC News
January 12, 2023
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The old house with its famous frescoes of 12 mythological scenes has been restored
The House of the Vettii, known as the Sistine Chapel of Pompeii, reopened to the public on Tuesday (01/10) after being closed for extensive restoration work for 20 years.
In the 2nd century B.C. The residence was built when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD
And it was named after its owners, the Vettii brothers, two former slaves.
After their release, Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus became rich by selling wine.
The house is decorated with frescoes depicting mythological scenes and phallic sculptures.
In one of the works, Priapus, the Greek god of fertility and abundance, is depicted weighing his own phallus on a scale against a sack of money.
Excavation work carried out between late 1894 and early 1896 showed that the ancient Roman house, built on the ruins of an earlier house, had survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
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In this painting, the god Priapus is shown cradling his own phallus against a sack of money.
“The owners, free men and former slaves, are an expression of a social mobility that would have been unthinkable two centuries earlier,” explains Gabriel Breeding, Director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
He said the brothers got rich selling farm produce from around Pompeii adding that prostitution is also practiced in the home.
The richly decorated furniture in the residence, as well as Greek and Roman sculptures in bronze and marble, offer a glimpse into the lifestyle of the elite of the time.