House of Adonis

House of Adonis

 

Address: Insula 7
Area: 410 square meters
Rooms: 9

House of Adonis  House of Adonis

The House of Adonis, first excavated in the 1830s, is located on the west side of Via di Mercurio. Most of the house has been destroyed today, but beautiful frescoes have been preserved in some parts of the house.

 

House of Adonis  House of Adonis

House of AdonisThe entrance (A) opens into a rectangular atrium (B) with a central imluvium-pool, with rooms on three sides. The atrium and rooms along its south side suffered significant damage and are now in a semi-destructive condition. The cubiculum room (C) in the northeast corner of the atrium looked much better and retains most of its fourth-style frescoes. The decoration consists of a red central zone, topped with a cornice under the decorative upper area of ​​white background. The room has a white mosaic floor with a double lined black frame.

Small remnants of the bedroom (D), which went to the peristyle (H) (patio with garden) to the west. The peristyle, which was accessible through the corridor north of the table, had porticos on its eastern and southern sides. In the center was a central garden with a marble fountain. Three rooms that open from the south side of the peristyle are in different states of conservation. Room (E), with rather faded frescoes, is decorated with fourth-style frescoes with white panels containing central vignettes, separated by architectural motifs above the lower decorative frieze. The central room (F), whose frescoes retain much of their color and brightness, is decorated in fourth-style frescoes with red and yellow panels containing mythological scenes, separated by architectural themes above the lower blue frieze. On the east wall is a fresco painted scene of the Hermaphrodite (pictured above).

The third room (G), triclinium, is in a very poor state of conservation. Only its southern wall retains some decorative details and remains of gypsum. To the west of the triclinium is a narrow passage (I), which once led to a small mansion immediately to the south of the House of Adonis (Regio VI, Insula 7, 1-2), but access was blocked until the eruption. On the north side of the peristyle there is a large fresco that occupies almost the entire wall of the garden. The fresco consists of three sections, separated by red columns. The central scene, after which the house was named, depicts Adonis with Venus and Cupids. The two side panels are more faded, but the eastern scene depicts Eros, surrounded by birds.