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House of Octavius Quartio, Pompeii

Location: Regio II

Insula 2

The House of Octavius Quartio, also commonly referred to as the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, is one of the most expansive and well-preserved domestic structures in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Located in Regio II, Insula 2 (specifically at II.2.2), it occupies nearly an entire city block, or insula, bounded on one side by the bustling Via dell'Abbondanza and on the other by the outer wall of the Large Palaestra near the Amphitheater. This prime location on the eastern side of Pompeii placed it in a vibrant, urban area close to public entertainment venues, reflecting the status of its inhabitants. The house was buried under volcanic ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, preserving its features remarkably well, and it underwent significant renovations after the earthquake of 62 CE, which transformed it into a luxurious villa-like residence within the city.
The name "House of Loreius Tiburtinus" stems from early interpretations of electoral slogans painted on its exterior walls, which promoted a candidate of that name. However, a bronze seal discovered near the kitchen stove during excavations revealed the true last owner as D. Octavius Quartio (sometimes spelled Quartius or Quartio), a man of evident wealth and cultural sophistication. This seal, along with the house's elaborate design, suggests Octavius Quartio was likely a prosperous merchant or landowner who invested heavily in aesthetic and recreational elements.

Excavation History

Excavation of the house began in earnest between 1916 and 1921 under the direction of Vittorio Spinazzola, the Pompeii superintendent at the time, who focused on uncovering the structures along Via dell'Abbondanza. Further digs occurred in 1933–1935, revealing more of the garden and interior details, with additional work in 1971 and 1973 to fully expose linked areas like II.2.5. These efforts uncovered not just the architecture but also casts of wooden elements, such as the grand entrance portal, providing insights into Roman construction techniques. The site's preservation has made it a key example of post-earthquake Pompeian rebuilding, blending urban townhouse functionality with villa-style luxury.

Architectural Layout and Key Rooms

Materials and Construction Techniques
Exterior walls primarily use opus incertum (irregular stone rubble set in concrete mortar) with ashlar (cut stone) piers for structural reinforcement. The easternmost corner employs opus vittatum mixtum (alternating brick and stone courses). Interiors feature typical Pompeian concrete cores, stucco coatings for frescoes, and painted columns. Floors include simple mosaics in some rooms and opus sectile or beaten earth elsewhere. Water systems rely on lead piping from the Aqua Augusta aqueduct, with a castellum plumbeum (lead-lined reservoir) and pressure towers for fountains.

Overall Layout and Floor Plan
The house follows the classic Roman fauces-atrium-tablinum matrix but adapts it innovatively: the traditional tablinum is replaced by a pseudo-peristyle, and the rear opens dramatically onto a raised terrace and vast garden. The layout emphasizes progression from public (street-facing) to increasingly private and luxurious outdoor spaces, creating a “villa-in-the-city” effect.
Entrance (Fauces, Room 1): A narrow corridor flanked by two shops (cauponae/tabernae) that were once integrated into the house but later separated and rented out (Caupona of Astylus and Pardalus on the right with a masonry counter and upper-floor stairs; Caupona of Athictus on the left with a wooden counter imprint). Stone benches for clients line the fauces. Doorways from the shops connect back into the atrium and some cubicula.
Atrium (Room 2): A large rectangular Tuscan-style atrium (no columns) with a central impluvium (rainwater basin) later converted into a decorative fountain surrounded by a low masonry planter bed for flowers. Surrounded by multiple cubicula (bedrooms) and alae (wing rooms) on three sides. The floor originally featured marble hexagons in opus sectile. Walls show Fourth Style frescoes (black panels divided by yellow columns over a red dado). The rear originally had a tablinum, replaced post-earthquake by a small square pseudo-peristyle/viridarium (Room g) with a three-sided colonnade of stuccoed columns (red bases, white shafts).

Off the atrium: several cubicula (some with kilns or stoves, including one where the owner’s bronze seal “D. Octavius Quartio” was found), a possible latrine, and additional triclinia. One ala (Room b) has Fourth Style red panels on dark blue with floating soldier figures.

Peristyle Area and Key Reception Rooms: Beyond the pseudo-peristyle lies a small colonnaded viridarium leading to a raised terrace/loggia. Notable rooms opening off this area include:
Triclinium (Room h): A large reception hall with a double frieze of Fourth Style frescoes — lower register: Iliad scenes (Achilles, Patroclus, Hector, Priam); upper register: Hercules myths (Telamon, Laomedon, Hesione). Lower walls imitate marble.

Oecus f (Isis/sacellum room): Fourth Style white-ground panels with cinnabar-red borders, Egyptian/cultic motifs (Bacchus, priest of Isis possibly depicting the owner, maenads, satyrs, Diana and Actaeon). Attributed to the Vettii workshop; some scholars interpret it as a shrine to Isis.
Other oeci (d and e) with landscapes, hunting scenes, and mosaic fragments.

The Expansive Garden and Water Features

The rear garden — the largest in Pompeii — dominates the property and transforms the house into a luxurious outdoor-oriented villa. A raised east-west terrace/loggia overlooks it, featuring an upper euripus (long E-W water channel, ~50+ meters) lined with statue plinths (originally muses, Dionysus, animals, masks). At its east end sits the summer biclinium (outdoor dining area with two masonry couches flanking a central water feature and aedicula/shrine with Corinthian columns). Frescoes here depict Narcissus at the pool and Pyramus & Thisbe; a river-god sculpture was found nearby.
(View of the garden euripus, biclinium, and water features.)
A perpendicular lower euripus (N-S channel) bisects the garden, intersecting the upper one at a tetrastyle temple/nymphaeum with a semicircular fountain basin and central jet. Additional features include:

Stepped nymphaea and cascade fountains.
Multiple pools with spigots and jets.
Pergolas, planting beds (plane trees, cypresses, acanthus, fruit trees, vines), and marble statues (including a sensual Hermaphroditus near the south wall).
The channels could be flooded to evoke the Nile, tying into Isis cult themes popular in Pompeii.

The garden connects via a back gate to the palaestra area and includes a possible commercial or ritual function.

Artistic and Cultural Significance

The house is renowned for its frescoes and mosaics, which blend Second and Third Style Pompeian art with narrative depth. Themes from Greek mythology and literature, such as the Iliad episodes in the triclinium, suggest the owner valued education and culture, possibly hosting intellectual gatherings.
The integration of water features with art creates a multisensory experience, emblematic of Roman elite lifestyles. Structurally, the domus has been studied for damage from earthquakes and eruptions, revealing insights into ancient masonry and conservation challenges. Overall, the House of Octavius Quartio exemplifies the fusion of urban practicality, post-disaster innovation, and opulent leisure in first-century Pompeii, offering a window into the daily life and aspirations of its Roman inhabitants.

The well-preserved frescoes of the House of Octavia Quarto. On the left is a legend about Narcissus, and on the right is Pyram's suicide.