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House of the Golden Bracelet

Address: Regio VI, Insula 17
Area: 467 square meters
Rooms: 6

The House of the Golden Bracelet (or the House of the Wedding of Alexander) in Pompeii is named after a beautiful golden bracelet that was discovered here on a body of a probable wife of the owner of the residence. It weights 0.6 kg with a shape of a two headed snake that hold a medallion with a portrait of a woman or a female deity. The insula is situated north of the junction between Vicolo del Farmacista and Via delle Terme. The house was especially rich. It had three levels and its walls are decorated with colorful frescoes, including that of the Wedding of Alexander and Roxanne, which also gave the insula its original name. The house of the Golden Bracelet was excavated in 1958 and until the early 70s, archaeologists completely dug the building.

The building is narrow, but high and consisted of three floors. The upper floor opens onto the Pharmacolisco's Vicolo delle and is decorated with red panels on a black background. There is an atrium, the office of the owner and other private rooms. On the second floor there is a living room and a private bath for the family. The windows overlooked the internal garden of the house. On the ground floor there was a garden.

Many frescoes are currently displayed in Naples Museum.

Unfortunately, the wealth of the family who lived here did not save them from death. The bodies of the family were found among the ruins of their home. Apparently the father and mother tried to run up the stairs to the inner garden of their house. From here they could have escaped along the road that led to the sea. However, they were not lucky. The wooden steps collapsed and their bodies were found centuries earlier. At the top left, you can see their plaster forms, which were made when archaeologists poured liquid gypsum into the voids left by their bodies. On the right is the body of an older child. In the middle is the body of the father, who has tucked his legs under him, and on the right is the body of the mother and the younger child, who was sitting on the body of the mother. In the extreme right photo you can see a fragment of the fresco from the house of the Golden Bracelet. It depicts parents and two children. One is older, the other is younger. Of course, no inscriptions were made, but we can assume that this is a family portrait of a family that once lived here and died together.