House of the Diadumeni

House of the Diadumeni

 

House of the Diadumeni  House of the Diadumeni

House of the Diadumeni is under the letter A

 

Address: Regio IX, Insula 1
Area: 957 square meters
Rooms: +20

 

House of the Diadumeni is located on the north side of Via delle Abbondanza, and immediately to the east of the intersection with another Via Stabiana street. The House of the Diadumeni, also known as the House of M. Epidius Ruf by the name of its former owner. The facade of the building is 1 meter farther from the pavement than other houses and this allowed the construction of a raised terrace about 1.3 m above the street level with access through narrow stairs (a) at both ends (in the photo above, and in the reconstruction of the facade below left).

 

House of the Diadumeni

Facade of the House of the Diadumeni

The House of the Diadumeni was first excavated between 1858 and 1866. It was built in the second half of the 2nd century BC during the reign of the Samnite tribe. In one respect, this structure resembles the old houses of Pompeii, for example, such as the House of the Surgeon, where instead of the peristyle there is a garden, which extends back from the colonnade at the back side of Tablinum.

 

House of the DiadumeniThe entrance hall (b) had a triple door leading to the street. Apparently it opened in the daytime. Visitors, as a rule, entered the house through the right casement doors. And completely the doors opened only for the reception of customers or special guests. A small entrance (c) led to a rectangular atrium (g) in which 16 Doric columns stood at a height of 4.3 m located around the central pool — impluvium.

On both sides of the atrium are two wings (e and f) and are separated by a pair of ionic columns. In the corners of the entrances of the pilasters, the Corinthian capitals of which had a female head. Today they are poorly preserved. In the eastern ale (F) or home temple stands a small throne. On it, archaeologists have found a dedication inscription that tells us that it was erected by two freedmen named Diadumeni (hence the name of the house) for the the patron spirit of the owner of the House of the Diadumeni  Marcus.

 

Kitchen of the House of the Diadumeni

House of the Diadumeni

House of the Diadumeni  House of the Diadumeni

House of the Diadumeni