V.2
Pompeii, Vicolo dei Balconi. Casa di Orione. House of Orion.
Linked to V.2.15 Casa di Giove or House of Jupiter.
Linked to V.2.16. Excavated 2018.
Orione 1 Orione 2 Giove 1 Giove 2 Giove 3 Giove 4 Plan
Casa di Orione
This house, which was originally referred to as being an extension of the Casa di Giove V.2.15, is now being referred to as the Casa di Orione or the House of Orion named after the unique mosaic found in ambiente A13. The garden 11c would appear to join this house and V.2.15 the Casa di Giove or House of Jupiter. The presence of an entrance A4 on the Vicolo dei Balconi would suggest the numbering of the insula entrances will change. For the present we have included the house as a part of V.2.15 until we have further information.
We have constructed the Casa di Orione pages and updated our plan from press material and photos produced by the Parco Archeologico di Pompei. Our grateful thanks to the Parco Archeologico di Pompei for giving us permission to use their press releases and photos.
Bibliography
Osanna M, 2019. Pompei.
Il tempo ritrovato. Le Nuove Scoperte. Milano: Rizzoli (to be published
26th November 2019).
Links
Casa di Giove - decorated
mosaic floor - winged figure
Casa di Giove -
decorated mosaic floor - serpent
Casa di Giove -
decorated mosaic floor - crocodile and dog/boar?
Casa di Giove -
decorated mosaic floor - panther?
Casa di Giove - decorated mosaic floor - floor edge
Casa di Giove -
decorated mosaic floor - Orion
Casa di Giove - decorated mosaic floor – vessels at floor edge
Casa di Giove -
atrium corner - 1st style
Casa di Giove -
atrium wall - 1st style
Casa di Giove - room off atrium - 1st style
Casa di Giove -
entrance - from atrium 1st style
Casa di Giove – entrance from atrium during excavation
Casa di Giove - room with floral decoration
Casa di Giove - wall with floral decoration
Casa di Giove - Bourbon hole between 1st style room and floral decoration room
Casa di Giove - red and white walls
Casa di Giove - Alcove with fresco of wounded Adonis, Venus and cupids
Casa di Giove - Detail of fresco of wounded Adonis, Venus and cupids
Casa di Giove -
atrium corner - 1st style
Casa di Giove -
atrium wall - 1st style
2018 excavations initial report
Being investigated (2018) in the west part of the wedge, are a series of rooms likely referable to the House of Jupiter, already partly excavated in the nineteenth century, (immediately south and east of the Silver Wedding House).
The investigations, still in progress, have made it possible to identify a wide excavation intervention attributable to the eighteenth century, or to the early nineteenth century, with a circular pit from which several tunnels departed.
It already seems possible to recognize the entrance (fauces), on the Alley of the Balconies, and an atrium which seems to overlook various rooms.
Two rooms overlook onto the Colonnade Garden (peristyle) of this House:
One to the south with rich decorations in first style, with frames and cornices in stucco,
One on the north with a decoration in the third style in which one can recognize, in particular, a pair of birds in the centre of a box.
Although already investigated by an exploratory trench and a tunnel dateable to the first modern investigations, in the corner of this room, still partly to be dug, an elegant Bronze Portalucerne (candelabra) was found, resting on the floor.
Casa di Giove
In due ambienti
la parte centrale del pavimento è decorata da eccezionali riquadri a mosaico
rettangolari di grande qualità artistica e con raffigurazioni straordinarie,
prive, finora, di precisi confronti e che, a un primo esame, sembrano riferirsi
a miti poco rappresentati, probabilmente di carattere astrologico.
Domus che continuano a delinearsi
nella loro struttura completa, con affreschi preziosi, oggetti e tracce di vita
quotidiana. E’ quanto sta avvenendo sul cantiere della Regio V degli scavi di
Pompei, dove proseguono quotidianamente le scoperte di strutture e reperti.
Una di queste ricche dimore è la
casa di Giove, che sta emergendo con tutti i suoi ambienti decorati.
La casa fu già in parte scavata
tra Settecento e Ottocento e piuttosto compromessa in più punti da cunicoli
e trincee, tuttora visibili, con i quali era in uso praticare gli scavi in
epoca borbonica. Il nome della casa deriva da un quadretto raffigurante Giove
rinvenuto già nell’800 su un larario posto nel giardino.
L’intervento odierno sta via via
profilando la pianta di una dimora con atrio centrale, circondato da stanze
decorate, ingresso lungo il vicolo dei balconi, anche esso di recente scoperta
e sul fondo uno spazio aperto colonnato su cui si affacciano altri tre
ambienti.
Gli ambienti di rappresentanza
attorno all’atrio hanno svelato una ricca decorazione in primo stile, con
riquadri di stucco imitanti lastre (crustae) marmoree dipinte di vivaci colori
(rosso, nero, giallo, verde) e conservata in alcuni punti della parte
superiore, una ricca cornice di stucco con modanature dentellate. L’atrio
stesso era completato probabilmente, da un fregio dorico in stucco, con
rifiniture in blu e rosso, attestato dai numerosi frammenti rinvenuti in alcuni
punti.
E’ molto probabile che la casa
abbia volutamente mantenuto, negli spazi di rappresentanza, questa più antica
decorazione in I stile che, in altre dimore pompeiane, era stata frequentemente
sostituita da decorazioni più moderne.
Tracce di un incendio sono state
invece ritrovate, in un ambiente della domus confinante con la adiacente casa
delle Nozze d’Argento, già in buona parte indagato in passato. L’incendio aveva
annerito la parete affrescata coinvolgendo elementi di arredo, tra cui
probabilmente un letto, come sembrerebbe dai frammenti di legno e di stoffa
carbonizzati.
Un bel quadretto
idillico-sacrale, che raffigura una scena di sacrificio nei pressi di un
santuario agreste è emerso, invece, in un ambiente poco distante dalla casa di
Giove, in quella che attualmente è identificata come Casa a Nord del giardino.
Si tratta di una tra le prime scene figurate di una certa complessità, assieme
al quadro dell’Adone ferito con Venere e amorini, già emerso in un alcova
poco distante.
In due
ambienti la parte centrale del pavimento è decorata da eccezionali riquadri a
mosaico rettangolari di grande qualità artistica e con raffigurazioni
straordinarie, prive, finora, di precisi confronti e che, a un primo esame,
sembrano riferirsi a miti poco rappresentati, probabilmente di carattere
astrologico.
House of Jupiter
In two rooms the central part
of the floor is decorated with exceptional rectangular mosaic squares of great
artistic quality and with extraordinary representations, hitherto devoid of
precise comparisons and which, on first examination, seem to refer to myths
that are not widely represented, probably of an astrological nature.
Houses continue to emerge in their complete structure, with precious frescoes, objects and traces of everyday life. This is what is happening on the site of the Regio V of the excavations in Pompeii, where the discoveries of structures and finds continue daily.
One of these rich dwellings is the House of Jupiter, which is emerging with all its ornate environments.
The house was already partly excavated between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and rather compromised in several places by tunnels and trenches, still visible, which were the methods used for excavations in the Bourbon era. The name of the house derives from a painting depicting Jupiter found already in the 1800s on a lararium located in the garden.
Today's intervention is gradually profiling the plan of a dwelling with central atrium, surrounded by decorated rooms, entrance along the Vicolo dei Balconi, also recently discovered and on the bottom a colonnade open area on which overlook three other rooms.
The rooms around the atrium have revealed a rich decoration in first style, with stucco panes imitating marble slabs (crustae) painted in vivid colours (red, black, yellow, green) and preserved in some points of the upper part, a rich frame of stucco with serrated mouldings. The atrium itself was probably completed by a Doric stucco, with finishes in blue and red, attested by the numerous fragments found at some points.
It is very probable that the house has deliberately maintained, in these spaces, this oldest decoration in the style which, in other Pompeian dwellings, had been frequently replaced by more modern decorations.
Traces of a fire have been found, in an environment of the domus bordering the adjacent house of the silver wedding, already in good part investigated in the past. The fire had blackened the frescoed wall and furnishing elements, including probably a bed, as it would seem from the fragments of wood and carbonized cloth.
A beautiful idyllic-sacral picture depicting a scene of sacrifice near a rural sanctuary has emerged, instead, in an environment not far from the House of Jupiter, in what is currently identified as a house north of the garden. It is one of the first scenes figurative of a certain complexity, together with the painting of the wounded Adonis with Venus and Amorini, already emerged in an alcove not far away.
In two rooms the central part of the floor is decorated with exceptional rectangular mosaic boxes of great artistic quality and with extraordinary depictions, without, so far, precise comparisons and which, at first examination, seem to refer to little myths represented, probably astrological.
Ambiente A1 is a room in an adjacent house
Ambiente A2. Corridor
with alcove
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A2, east end, collapsed roof that covered a latrine.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A2, west end, fresco of wounded Adonis found in an alcove.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A3. Room south of entrance A4
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. The two excavators are working in room A3, which is on the east side (left).
On the south side of atrium A12 are rooms A17, A11 in the centre and room A13 on the right.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A3 on the east side of atrium A12, to south of entrance A4.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A3 on the south side of entrance A4, under excavation.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. July 2018. Room A3 under excavation.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A4. Entrance
V.2.15 Pompeii. Casa
di Giove, entrance A4 on Vicolo dei Balconi. The facade is of white block
pattern with a yellow upper band.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A4 entrance fauces with painted blockwork on east side of atrium A12.
Room A3 is to the left (north) of the entrance and room A3 is right (south) of the entrance.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A4 entrance fauces, face in graffiti.
Photograph Massimo
Osanna © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A5. Room north of entrance A4
V.2.15 Pompeii. July 2018. North-east corner of atrium. Doorway to room A5.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A6. Room with panther mosaic
V.2.15 Pompeii. May 2018. Room A6 north side.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A6 north-west corner.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A6, north-east corner.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. Bronze candelabra by east wall doorway.
Although already investigated by an exploratory trench and a tunnel dateable to the first modern investigations, in the corner of this room an elegant bronze candelabra was found, resting on the floor.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. East wall and doorway into atrium A12.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. Upper east wall.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. Upper east wall doorway.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. Lower east wall doorway.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. South wall and south-east corner.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations.
Bronze candelabra and terracotta vase by east wall doorway.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. Part of mosaic floor with crocodile and boar and other animals.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. Room A6 during 2018 excavations. Part of mosaic floor with panther, eagle and goat and other animals.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A7. Tablinum
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Rooms A7 and A6 on the west side of the atrium A12.
Peristyle A19 with columns is behind and garden 11c at the rear.
Photograph © Giuseppe Scarica, Ecampania.it.
V.2.15 Pompeii. May 2018. Room A7, tablinum, upper north wall during excavations.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. May 2018. Room A7, tablinum, upper south wall during excavations.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A8. Room
in south-east corner of atrium A12
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Rooms A8, A7 and A6 on the west side of the atrium A12.
Peristyle A19 with columns is behind and garden 11a at the rear.
Photograph © Giuseppe Scarica, Ecampania.it.
Ambiente A9 is a room in an adjacent house
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A9, a room in an adjacent house.
Photograph Massimo
Osanna © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A10. Cubiculum with traces of burning
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A10, cubiculum, behind room A6 (centre) and peristyle A19 (left). Room A18 is on the right.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. June 2018. Room A10 visible through hole in north wall of room A6 during 2018 excavations.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A10, cubiculum, with traces of a burnt bed on the floor.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A10, cubiculum, with burnt wall and traces of a burnt bed on the floor.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A10, cubiculum, with burnt material on the floor.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
Ambiente A11. Room with first style decoration
V.2.15 Pompeii. March 2019. Room A11 (left) with first style decoration. Room A13 is to right.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A11 in centre of south side of atrium A12. Restoration in progress in 1st style room of 2nd C BC.
The holes from the Bourbon tunnel can be seen in the east and west walls.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A11 east wall.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A11, west wall. A hole from the Bourbon tunnel.
The house was already partly excavated between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and rather compromised in several places by tunnels and trenches, still visible, which were the methods used for excavation in the Bourbon era.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. 2018. Room A11 on south side of atrium. Numerous bronze, terracotta and clay pots and jars were found on the floor.
Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. August 2018. Room A11 north-west corner with 1st style décor and three handled terracotta urn.
Photograph ©
Parco Archeologico di Pompei.
V.2.15 Pompeii. 2018. Room A11 on south side of atrium.
Bronze cauldron, trefoil jug and various clay jars found on floor.
Photograph © Parco
Archeologico di Pompei.
Orione 1 Orione 2 Giove 1 Giove 2 Giove 3 Giove 4 Plan