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House of the Centennial, Pompeii

Address: Regio IX, Insula 8
Area: 2175 square meters
Rooms: +40

The House of the Centenary, also known as Casa del Centenario or Domus A. Rustii Veri e Tiberius Claudi Veri (Regio IX, Insula 8, Entrances 3 and 6; IX.8.3/6), is one of the largest and most luxurious domestic structures in Pompeii, covering an estimated 1,800-2,000 square meters with over 40 rooms. Built in the mid-2nd century BC during the Samnite period, it underwent significant renovations in the Imperial era (1st century AD), incorporating Hellenistic influences like a grand peristyle and private amenities. The house exemplifies elite Roman domestic architecture, blending public reception spaces with private luxuries such as baths, a nymphaeum (fountain shrine), a fish pond (piscina), and two atria. It is divided into a main section for the owner's family and separate servants' quarters with its own entrance from a side street (IX.8.a). Ownership is attributed to the prominent Verus family, specifically Aulus Rustius Verus (a candidate for aedile and duumvir) and Tiberius Claudius Verus (supreme magistrate in AD 61-62), based on electoral graffiti on the facade. Buried under ash and pumice during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the house was preserved until its excavation in 1879—exactly 1,800 years after the disaster, inspiring its modern name. Today, it is part of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, open to visitors, though some areas show damage from World War II bombings and ongoing conservation challenges.

Historical Context and Excavations

Built around 150-100 BC under Samnite influence, the house was remodeled around 15 AD, adding the bath complex, swimming pool, and redecorating rooms with Third and Fourth Style paintings in the decades before the eruption. Its location on Via di Nola (a major thoroughfare) placed it in a vibrant urban context, serving as a venue for political patronage, social gatherings, and possibly cultural events like pantomime performances, as suggested by graffiti and theatrical-themed frescoes. Graffiti includes a rare Latin word "cacaturit" ("wants to shit") from the latrine, echoing Martial's Epigrams, and a record of a slave named Officiosus escaping on November 6, 15 AD.
Excavations began in 1879—exactly 1,800 years after the eruption—under Italian archaeologists, continuing in 1881 and 1902, uncovering the vast layout and artifacts. Key documentation includes 1882 watercolors by Luigi Bazzani, 1886 paintings by Alfred Rettelbusch, pre-1943 photos by Tatiana Warscher, and modern images from 1961-2023 by photographers like Stanley A. Jashemski and Giuseppe Ciaramella. The site suffered damage during World War II Allied bombings in September 1943, particularly to the peristyle pool, with post-war restorations including a 2008 replica satyr statue donation. Ongoing excavations in Regio IX (3,200 sq.m., funded by €33 million) reached their final phase by 2025, revealing new areas like a black reception room with Trojan War scenes, a bath complex, and a banqueting room with Second Style frescoes.

Architectural Layout

The house is divided into two sections: the main domus for the owner's family (accessed via entrances IX.8.3 and IX.8.6) and servants' quarters with a separate side-street entrance (IX.8.a), including a bakery in the cellar. It follows an axial design: facade to atrium to peristyle, with upper floors implied by stairs. The facade on Via di Nola features stone steps, benches, and graffiti.

Notable Rooms and Features

Main Atrium and Entrance: The grander atrium served public functions, with the smaller for family/services; entrance mosaic depicts a dolphin and seahorse.
Peristyle and Porticos: Enclosed garden with columns and central pool (damaged in 1943); west portico has mythological panels (e.g., Hercules freeing Hesione, Perseus and Andromeda) and deity attributes (Juno, Apollo, Minerva).
Nymphaeum: Evokes a country villa with paintings of fish-filled waters, ivy balustrades, birds, lizards, and sphinx fountains.
Private Baths: Luxurious suite with cold pool, changing room, warm and hot rooms heated by a praefurnium; rare for private homes.
Lararium (Room 23): Enclosed shrine with stone altar, grey marble aedicula (pediment with painted owl), benches, and flanking Lares figures; central painting of Bacchus pouring wine for a panther beside vine-covered Vesuvius (pre-eruption, possibly Mount Nysa).
Banqueting Room (2025 Discovery): Spacious hall with Second Style megalography fresco (40s-30s BC) depicting Dionysiac procession: bacchantes, satyrs, initiation scene with Silenus and torch; figures on pedestals like statues; upper frieze of hunting scenes (fawns, boars, birds, fish); tied to mystery cults promising bliss.
Room 43 (Bed Chamber/"Camera d'Amore"): Features explicit erotic frescoes, including "reverse upright Venus" position; possibly a private brothel or sex club with peephole.

Decorations and Artifacts

Decorations span Third and Fourth Styles, with frescoes dominating: mythological scenes (Theseus and Minotaur, Hercules and Telephus, Orestes and Pylades, Iphigenia in Tauris); erotic art in bedrooms; garden motifs in triclinia (stalks, tendrils, birds, candelabra). The lararium's Bacchus-Vesuvius fresco (Naples Museum, inv. 112286) is iconic, showing the volcano as a single peak. Mosaics include entrance dolphin-seahorse and exedra hexagons.
Artifacts: Bronze satyr statue (0.51m, inv. 111495) from the pool (original in Naples; replica onsite); graffiti providing social insights; household items like ceramics and tools (many in museums).

Significance and Conservation

The house illuminates affluent Pompeian society, blending politics, religion (Dionysiac cults), agriculture (viticulture), and sexuality; its Vesuvius depiction is the earliest known, and erotic scenes reveal Roman norms. Comparable to the Villa of the Mysteries, the 2025 banqueting room enhances understanding of mystery rites. Conservation addresses WWII damage, erosion, and tourism via the Great Pompeii Project; the new room is accessible via guided tours (book at 327 2716666). As a UNESCO site, it underscores Pompeii's cultural heritage.