Pompeii, the House of the Botanical Garden reopens to the public

POMPEII – On the occasion of the National Landscape Day, Pompeii Archaeological Park is enriched with a new space available to the public: The Botanical Garden House will reopen from Friday 14 March, also known as House of Nessus due to the presence of a fresco depicting the myth of the centaur.

An important recovery operation that enhances the union between archaeology and nature, giving back to the site a green area historically reorganised by thePark Green Care Area. The domus, located in the archaeological area of Pompei, was structured in two parts: to the north-east the residential area, while to the south there was a large garden, today the site of theBotanical Garden, from which it takes its name.

This green area, which extends over over 800 square meters, hosts a rich selection of plant species that were already cultivated in Roman times: fruit trees, sacred, medicinal, officinal and horticultural plants. Thanks to careful restoration work, the typical Quarttura in Ars topiaria, with the replacement of myrtle hedges with plants of dwarf pomegranate, as it happened in the last century. In the second garden, however, there are flowerbeds cultivated with archaic techniques, among which reinforced shoulders and perforated pots, using dyeing, aromatic, horticultural and medicinal plants.

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Guided tours and social inclusion

During the opening day on March 14, visitors will be able to participate in a guided tour dedicated to pruning and respecting the shapes in the landscape, entitled “Pruning of greenery: respecting the forms in the landscape”The initiative will be managed by officials of thePark Green Care Area, Claudia Buonanno, Crescenzo Mazzuocolo, Halinka Di Lorenzo, Together with First gardener and restorer of historic greenery, Maurizio Bartolini. The visitors will also be guided by the boys from the association The Tulip, protagonists of an innovative project of archaeology and social agriculture.

The initiative is part of a path of social inclusion launched by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, which involves young people with autism and cognitive disability in practical activities within the site. The project culminated in the birth of the first “Parvula Domus Social and Cultural Farm” in an Italian archaeological area, recognized and registered in the REFAS (Register of Social Farms of the Campania Region).