The House of the Faun is one of the most famous buildings in Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
On that day, exactly October 24 (according to the latest findings), Pompeians in a few moments found themselves covered by ash and lapilli without even having time to escape.
Vesuvius, that mountain they considered a friend, suddenly began to erupt ash and lapilli, completely burying the city of Pompeii with more than 3 meters of volcanic material.
Houses, streets, stores and men remained buried for over 2,000 years and were only casually found around 1748.
In this immense heritage, the House of the Faun, what has now become one of the main attractions of ancient Pompeii, was also discovered.
House of the Faun to whom it belonged
The House of the Faun of Pompeii is located in Regio VI. Can be easily reached either from Piazza Esedra or from Villa dei misteri.
With an area of 2970 square metres, it is one of the largest in Pompeii, and belonged to a wealthy magistrate of the Satrii family, as testified by an inscription engraved on a tufa frame.
The wealth and social standing of the owner can already be perceived at the entrance to the house of the faun, located in Via della Fortuna. Characterised by a majestic doorway with decorated capitals and the inscription on the floor in Latin of welcome “HAVE” with multicoloured tiles.
The use of a word in Latin and not in the Oscan language (spoken at the time) was a way for the owner to flaunt his knowledge of Latin.
Structure faun House of Pompeii
The House of the Faun, like every typical Roman house, has an atrium where in the center of it is placed the impluvium, that is, the basin for collecting rainwater.
The atrium was decorated with mosaic floor and in the center of the impluvium was placed the bronze statue of a dancing satyr, interpreted as a faun, after which the famous house was later named.
(Today, however, there is only a copy of the dancing faun in the archaeological park; the original is kept in the National Museum).
The house of the Faun is characterised by the presence of two peristyles and two atria, most probably two different properties that were later incorporated into one large building.
The two peristyles were divided by a semicircular recess, called an exedra, which was the most representative room of the house. Where the owner received guests who could admire the enormous floor mosaic, about 20 square metres in size, depicting the Battle of Issus between Alexander the Great and the Persian King Darius.
The presence of frescoes, numerous mosaics, and early-style stucco present in every room of the dwelling represented a way for the owner to show off his wealth.
In addition, the House of the Faun was the only one in Pompeii that featured a private thermal environment, with the presence of a tepidarium and calidarium.
Numerous finds were made during the excavation work, including numerous gold and silver objects and the skeleton of a woman intent on saving jewellery and gold.
