While waiting for the upcoming opening of the Casa delle Nozze d'argento, a majestic Pompeian domus rich in decorations, on February 14th, for Valentine's Day, it will be possible to access the restoration site nearing completion with the “MyPompeii card”.
All holders or new buyers of the “MyPompeii” subscription will be given an overview of the details of a complex construction site, now almost complete, which involved securing the structures, redoing all the roofs and restoring the decorative apparatus of one of the most solemn aristocratic domus in Pompeii.
The house, which owes its name to the visit of the royals Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy on the day of their silver wedding anniversary in 1893, is characterised by its imposing architectural solutions, such as the very tall Corinthian columns in tuff in the atrium (entrance hall), but also the colonnaded garden (peristyle) of the so-called rhodium type, that is, with the northern side higher than the others, an architectural choice also documented in other Pompeian houses such as the House of the Golden Cupids.
The fountains inserted in all sectors, the heated bathroom with outdoor tubs and the two gardens on the eastern and western sides of the building, must have allowed for a comfortable residence within the complex. As regards the owner of the building, while nothing is certain for the first phase of the house's life, it is very probable that, at least from the Claudian age, it was owned by Lucius Albucius Celsus I (aedile in office in the years 33-34 AD) who must have then left it as an inheritance to his son Lucius Albucius Celsus II (born between 50 and 60 AD and candidate for the office of aedile between 76 and 79 AD). The house was excavated in 1883, between 1891 and 1893 and again in 1907-'08.
The “My Pompeii Card” is the annual card, costing 35 euros (8 euros for under 25s) + 1,50 euros for online pre-sale, which gives the right to enter all the sites of the Pompeii Archaeological Park (Pompeii, Villa di Poppea/Oplontis, Antiquarium di Boscoreale and Villa
Regina, Ville di Stabia and the Archaeological Museum of Stabia Libero D'Orsi/Reggia di Quisisana), as well as offering the opportunity to participate in extraordinary visits or special initiatives of the Park.
Card holders will be contacted by MyPompeii staff or can directly sign up for the Valentine's Day visits by sending an email to mypompeiicard@cultura.gov.it, where they will receive all the details for the appointment.
Article published on 10 February 2023 - 17:10
