Address: Insula 8
Area: 293 square meters
Rooms: 10
Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus are closely interconnected and are
considered here as a whole. In any case, there was no separation
between these buildings, so it is logical to assume that the owner
of the eatery lived here.
The word Thermopolium can be
translated as "warm city". This term meant that a fast-food
establishment was first prepared food, and then kept in large hot
tubs, built into the counter. Citizens of the city could quickly run
and buy their own food. Not many residents of the city had a
kitchen. The fires were frequent and landowners did not want to risk
and arrange the stoves.
Bar (a), which served as an eatery
for food, opens directly to the south side of Pompeii’s main street,
Via delle Abbondanza. This is quite logical. It was one of the most
important arteries of the city. Thousands of people passed by and
many stopped to eat here. There are several holes in the marble
counter where amphoras or lobes were inserted. In one of these
amphoras, 585 sesterces were found, that is, an impressive amount
for that time. With this money it was possible to live a good whole
month. The stove, located under the counter and facing the east
wall, was designed to heat food.
To the right of the entrance
is the base of the stairs. On the back (south) wall of the bar,
between the two doorways, is a painted laririo, which is decorated
with some fine plastering works. On stage, the central figure (the
genius of the family) makes a sacrifice over a small folding altar.
On the left is Mercury, the god of commerce, and on the far right is
Bacchus, the god of wine.
The rest of the building of Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus is not badly preserved. The house has a separate entrance to the residential premises and another entrance to its own restaurant or bar Thermopolium . The frescoes are faded, but still visible. In the courtyard there are stone lodges and a table at which the owner had dinner and chatted with his guests.
The corridor opens in the northeast corner of the atrium - a living
room with a central indoor pool with a small marble podium on the
south side. In some places, the walls of the atrium retained traces
of plaster, but the frescoes that once decorated the walls of the
house are too faded to form the basis of the description of the
room's design. In the atrium there are rooms from all sides except
its western side.
The opening from the center of the east
side of the atrium leads to a small room, the cubic room (f), which
is decorated in the third style with large white panels with thin
inner borders framed in red over a white frieze. The central panels
on each wall contain a small scene of bird life, and the side panels
are decorated with simple garlands tied with ribbons. On the western
wall of Kubikum there is an arched niche. The room has a dark gray
floor with white marble inserts that form a diamond pattern.
Tablin or office (g) lies on the south side of the atrium. The room
lost most of its plaster, but several areas, especially in the
southeast corner, still retained traces of frescoes, which appear to
have been in the third style with red panels over the bottom black
frieze.