Pompeii, Small Fountain House reopens and visits to excavation and restoration sites resume

With the reopening to the public of the house of the Small Fountain at the Pompeii Archaeological Park at the conclusion of the restoration work site, the new season of the Telling the Sites initiative will begin on Thursday, November 21. Now in its fourth year, the initiative will give MyPompeii Card holders the opportunity every Thursday until April 17, 2025 (at 10:30 a.m.) to visit the ongoing redevelopment and restoration sites at the Pompeii Archaeological Park sites.

Placed in an important location along Via di Mercurio, the house of the Small Fountain is organized in such a way that right from the entrance it is possible to catch a glimpse of the splendid fountain that decorates the back garden, and thus intuit the high social status of the owner. The precious fountain is covered with colorful mosaics and shells and is adorned with a bronze statue of a fisherman and a Cupid (displayed in copies). All around, the side walls of the peristyle are frescoed with large landscape views executed a few years before the eruption, among which the depiction of a maritime city is notable, a theme very much in vogue in representations of the time and particularly suitable for garden decoration. The concrete roofs of the two atria, repositioned to their original height, date from a 1971 restoration and restore the perception of the ancient volumetry of the house.

The house has undergone extraordinary maintenance work on the roofs. Prominent among the main operations conducted was the structural reinforcement of the concrete beams of the main atrium, accomplished with the use of FRP materials, along with the complete replacement of its roof covering.

Particular attention was paid to the overhaul of the peristyle roof, to ensure optimal protection from the elements, and to the waterproofing of all the flat floors, a fundamental intervention to prevent water infiltration that could damage the historic structures. The securing of the peristyle’s decorative apparatuses was also carried out.

This cycle of works was completed by the restoration of the masonry blocks of the façade of the Fontana Grande, a domus adjacent to the Fontana Piccola, a complex intervention due to the handling of the individual blocks.

The Telling the Sites initiative, scheduled through April 17, 2025, will provide an insight into twenty construction sites at the Pompeii site and the Oplontis site. From the House of the Small Fountain to Excavation IX-10, from the House of the Atrium to the Insula Occidentalis. Also, the Forum Baths, the Insula Meridionalis, the Necropolis of Porta Stabia, the Insula of the Casti Amanti, the Civita Giuliana site, the House of Leda, the Forum Granaries, the House of Caesio Blando, the House of Julius Polybius to various other sites. It is an opportunity to learn about the complex activity of excavation, securing, restoration and maintenance, through the storytelling and direct vision of experts in the field, and to have a firsthand access to dwellings of exceptional value and refinement or extraordinary condition of discovery. The initiative is organized by the Park’s Technical Office.

All MyPompeii Card holders or new purchasers will be able to book their chosen visit, according to the visit schedule published on the website, at mypompeiicard@cultura.gov.it. Reservations must be received at least one day before the chosen date, and by 2 p.m.

Pompeii, Small Fountain House reopens and visits to excavation and restoration sites resume

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