Italy culture minister visits Pompeii for opening.

Pompeii has reopened the Casa dei Vettii, a richly frescoed house owned by two men freed from slavery, following a complex 20-year restoration.

The House of the Vettii was hailed as "the Sistine Chapel of Pompeii" by the director of the archaeological park Gabriel Zuchtriegel on Tuesday, alongside Italy's culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.

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The site, which includes a garden with statues and fountains, is famed for its frescoes of mythological scenes and erotic art including a depiction of Priapus, god of fertility, with a large phallus balancing on a weighing scales.

Oggi, 10 gennaio 2023 alle 10:00, il Ministro della Cultura, @g_sangiuliano, sarà a @pompeii_sites per la riapertura della Casa dei Vettii.

Interverranno: il Direttore generale Musei del MiC, @MassimoOsanna; il Direttore generale del Parco archeologico di Pompei, @GZuchtriegel. pic.twitter.com/xhYmCGcbDn

— Ministero della Cultura (@MiC_Italia) January 10, 2023

Built in the second century BC, the house was named after its owners Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus who became wealthy by selling wine after they were freed.

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Despite being buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD the house and its frescoes were well preserved when the site was rediscovered in the late 19th century.

Riapre la casa simbolo di Pompei, la casa dei Vettii, che non manca in nessuna guida del sito UNESCO campano e in nessun manuale sull’arte antica, grazie ai suoi straordinari affreschi e alle sculture che adornavano il suo ampio giardino. pic.twitter.com/T1XPugET4x

— Pompeii Sites (@pompeii_sites) January 11, 2023

Cover photo Luigi Spina - Parco archeologico di Pompei.