Villa dei Misteri | |
 Villa of the Mysteries seen from above | |
  Location in Italy | |
 Interactive map of Villa of the Mysteries | |
| Location | Pompeii, Italy |
|---|---|
| Region | Campania |
| Coordinates | 40°45′13.3″N14°28′38.8″E / 40.753694°N 14.477444°E /40.753694; 14.477444 |
| Type | Roman villa |
| History | |
| Founded | 2nd century BC |
| Abandoned | 79 AD |
| Periods | Roman Republic, Roman Empire |
| Events | Eruption of Mount Vesuvius |
| Site notes | |
| Discovered | 1909 |
| Excavation dates | 1909-1910, 1929-1930 |
| Archaeologists | Aurelio Item, Giuseppe Spano, Amadeo Maiuri |
| Condition | Well-preserved |
| Ownership | Public |
| Management | Soprintendenza Pompei |
| Public access | Yes |
TheVilla of the Mysteries (Italian:Villa dei Misteri) is a well-preserved suburban ancientRoman villa on the outskirts ofPompeii, southern Italy. It is famous for the series of exquisitefrescos in Room 5, which are usually interpreted as showing the initiation of a bride into aGreco-Roman mystery cult. These are now among the best known of the relatively rare survivals ofAncient Roman painting from the 1st century BC.
Like the rest of the Roman city of Pompeii, the villa was buried in theeruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was excavated from 1909 onwards. It is now a popular part of tourist visits to Pompeii and forms part of the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site at Pompeii. The Villa of the Mysteries has also been featured in music and media— inspiringCorde Oblique's song "Slide" and serving as a setting in the novelQueen of the Damned byAnne Rice.
The villa is located some 400 m northwest of the town walls, between the roads Via Delle Tombe and Via Superiore lined with funerary monuments leading to the Herculaneum Gate of Pompeii, and is near theVilla of Diomedes and the so-called Villa of Cicero. It lies on a hill with an expansive view of the current Gulf of Naples; it rests on a slope and is partly supported by acryptoporticus formed by blind arches.
The villa was built in the 2nd century BC and reached its period of maximum splendor during the Augustan age when it was considerably enlarged and embellished. Recent research, however, has posited that the villa was built in the early 1st century BC around the time ofSulla.[1] This analysis is based on stratigraphic evidence and the dating of theSecond Style frescoes, which are the earliest decoration in the villa stylistically dating to the early 1st century BC.[1] After construction, it was then avilla urbana, which is a type of suburban villa, with large rooms and hanging gardens, in a panoramic position. Following theearthquake of 62 AD, it fell into disrepair, as did much of the city, and was transformed into avilla rustica with the addition of agricultural equipment such as a wine press. The building was then mainly used for the production and sale of wine.[2]
The ownership of the Villa is unknown, as is the case with many private homes in Pompeii. A bronze seal was found in the villa that names L. Istacidius Zosimus, afreedman of the powerful Istacidii family, who was either the owner of the Villa or the overseer of its reconstruction after the earthquake of 62 AD. The presence of a statue ofLivia, wife ofAugustus, has led some historians to suggest that she was a previous owner.[3] The remains of a bronze-trimmed saddled horse help some scholars to suggest a high-ranking official, possibly military, occupied the villa at the time of its demise.[4][5]
The villa, initially called Villa Item, named after its discoverer, Aurelio Item,[6][7] was uncovered between 1909 and 1910 in an excavation conducted by Giuseppe Spano; a more in-depth investigation was carried out between 1929 and 1930 byAmadeo Maiuri, following the expropriation imposed by the Italian State.[2] From 2013 to 2015, important restoration and conservation work on the frescoes and floor mosaics took place.[8][3] In 2017, illegal tunnels around the walls of the villa that had been used to steal artifacts were found. This sparked the 2018 excavation of the stables on the villa's ground, where archaeologists discovered the unique remains of harnessed horses.[4][5][9]
Although covered with meters of pumice and ash, the Villa sustained only minor damage during the eruption ofMount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Most of its walls, ceilings, and particularly its frescoes survived largely intact.
In total, the villa has more than 60 rooms.[3] The ancient entrance, which is located directly opposite the modern entrance, had benches for waiting clients and led to service rooms, including a courtyard for storing and unloading produce, servants' quarters, and rooms for agricultural equipment.[10] A wine press discovered during excavations has been restored to its original location. This was not uncommon, as homes of the very wealthy often included areas for the production of wine, olive oil, or other agricultural products.
Past the entrance is theperistyle, the bathing and kitchen quarters, and the mainatrium with animpluvium which leads into atriclinium with access to a portico with a view of the Gulf of Naples.[10] Beyond the kitchen's courtyard sits a pre-Roman bathhouse that later became storage.[11] Room 5, which is decorated with the famous frescoes for which the villa is named, lies to the right of Room 4, which is acubiculum often identified as a "nuptial chamber."[10]
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Though often believed to be atriclinium, Room 5 could have been acubiculum or, as Brenda Longfellow posits, even multifunctional and used by various family members at different times of day or on different days.[12] Because the exact use of the room is uncertain, it is also often referred to as anoecus, but it cannot securely be characterized as such.[12] Room 5 is located at the back of the villa off of a peristyle with only one entrance and exit, making it one of the least accessible rooms in the villa to visitors. Because of its rich decoration and relative inaccessibility, it is thought to have been used on special occasions for invited guests.[12]
The bodies of two women and a child were found in lower pumice eruption layers of the Villa,[13] suggesting that they were caught in the early stages of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. They were on the upper floor of the farm section andplaster casts were made of them as in other areas ofPompeii andHerculaneum. Six bodies (one girl near the entrance, one woman, four others in the cryptoporticus) were found in the later higher pyroclastic eruption layers indicating they had survived the first part of the catastrophe.
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 Dionysiac frieze, Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii,Smarthistory[14] |
The villa is named for the paintings Room 5, which are true frescoes in the Second Style and dated to about 70-60 BC.[15] Although the actual subject of the frescoes is debated,[16][7] the most common interpretation is that they depict the initiation of a woman into matrimony in accordance with theDionysian Mysteries, amystery cult devoted to the god known to the Romans as Bacchus.[17][18] Specific rites were required to become a member. A key feature that helps to identify these scenes asBacchic is the depiction ofmaenads, the deity's female followers. These devotees are often shown dancing with swirling drapery onpainted Greek pottery from the sixth centuryBC onward.[19][20] There are many different interpretations of the frescoes, but they are commonly believed to depict areligious rite in some form. A common theory is that the frescoes depict a bride initiating into theBacchic Mysteries in preparation for marriage.[18] In this hypothesis, the elaborate costume worn by the main figure is believed to be wedding apparel.[21]
The famous frescoes of the villa were first discovered in 1909, but they were soon damaged by a combination of poor protection from the elements and an earthquake that occurred in June.[8] Salt residue from the ground caused white stains to appear on the surface of the paintings, and the pigments began to fade in the sun.[7] To counteract this, large sections of the frescoes were removed and re-attached after the walls were rebuilt with new stone to better resist the damp and salt leaching.[7]
According to the preservation methods prevalent at the time, coatings of wax and petroleum were applied to remove the residues and provide protection, which accounts for the glossy sheen which was characteristic of the frescoes in the 20th/early 21st centuries. These coatings proved remarkably effective in protecting the paintings from further damage, but distorted the original colouring, making the red background appear darker than the original pigment.[8] Later in 1909, a German team of archaeologists undertook further restorations onsite.
Between 2013 and 2015, restorations were undertaken on the frescoes using modern techniques. Laser technology was used to remove the layers of wax and petroleum applied in the early 20th century, allowing analysis and restoration of the original colour tones to be done.[22][23] The frescoes were also treated with the antibioticamoxicillin, which removed themanganese dioxide that had leached into the paintings from the ground, and thestreptococci bacteria which feed on the pigments and cause deterioration.[8][24]
Based on the subject matter and order of the frescoes, they are intended to be read as a single narrative. The scenes represent different moments in the initiation ritual into the Bacchic Mysteries.[18] Women and satyrs are featured prominently, with the villa owner's family possibly acting as models for the women and children depicted in the frescoes.[25] Given the widely accepted theory that the murals portray aspects of the cult ofBacchus, some propose that the frescoed room itself was used to conduct initiations and other rituals, although the exact use of this room is heavily debated.[12] Molly Swetnam-Burland has argued against this interpretation of the room, stating that when compared to other depictions of Bacchus in religious contexts around Pompeii, the Bacchus in these frescoes is different in key aspects, demonstrating that this is not a religious space.[26]
In light of the recent restorations, Elaine K. Gazda has reexamined the figures and their relationship to each other in the frescoes and in life.[28] Gazda argues that the restorations have made possible the identification of the women depicted in the frescoes, not as the same woman repeated throughout an initiation scene, but as portraits of different women with their own individualized features.[28] She identifies the matron in the last mural as thedomina of the villa, the bride in the sixth mural as her daughter, the Bacchus as thedominus, and the others as the men and women of thefamilia, such as relatives and enslaved people.[28]
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