The House of the Beautiful Courtyard is one of the Herculaneum dwellings that has caused the most stir since its discovery began.
Although it was completely submerged by a 20-meter-high blanket of mud during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The House of the Beautiful Courtyard was found with the staircase and balladeer to access the second floor completely intact.
This was an unprecedented discovery, considering the tremendous fate that Herculaneum and the other Vesuvian cities suffered in 79 AD. Which were all hit by the fury of Vesuvius bringing death and devastation.
The courtyard of the Herculaneum house
The house of the beautiful courtyard at Herculaneum stands in insula V. And takes its name from the discovery of a perfectly preserved courtyard inside the house.
Unlike the other dwellings in Herculaneum, the house of the beautiful courtyard has a completely different structure. In fact, once past the entrance door, one enters directly into the atrium with a low ceiling and frescoes with many decorations on the walls. The predominant colour, typical of that period, is Pompeian red.
From the atrium one can then access the other rooms of the house, including the cubiculi, i.e. the bedrooms, the kitchen and the courtyard from which the house takes its name.
The courtyard is still perfectly preserved, the mosaics with which the structure was built are clearly visible, as are the decorations on the walls with a prevalence of the classic Pompeian red colour.
But what is most striking and makes the discovery of the house of the beautiful courtyard of Herculaneum exceptional is the staircase. The latter, perfectly intact, provides access into the four rooms located on the second floor.
From the courtyard one can enter both the oecus, the living and reception room, decorated with red-painted panels, and the triclinium, the rectangular dining room. The latter paved with a white mosaic, with a black and white border around the floor. Which was also painted using Pompeian red and yellow ochre.
