Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

 

 

Address: Insula 8
Area: 293 square meters
Rooms: 10

 

Thermopolium of Vetutius PlacidusThermopolium 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.

 

Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

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.

 

Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus  Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

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.

Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus  Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus  Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus