HOUSE OF THE FAUN-REGIO VI, House Of The Faun-Regio Vi

You are about to discover one of the largest domus in Pompeii, covering an area of almost 3,000 square meters, which certainly belonged to one of the wealthiest men in the city, probably a member of the Satrii family.

On the pavement in front of the entrance you are greeted by a welcome sign in Latin, 'HAVE', and as soon as you enter you see, in the center of the impluvium of the main atrium, a copy of the famous statuette depicting a 'dancing faun' after which the house was named.

Unlike the more common domus, this one had two atria and two peristyles and was divided into a main reception area for receiving clients and guests, and one reserved for the family.

Already from the entrance leading into the main atrium, you can begin to admire the splendor of the mosaic decorations on the floors and the early style of paintings that you will continue to discover as you wander around the domus.

There are mosaics depicting animals such as fish, a cat biting a bird, three doves and animals typical of the Nile River such as hippos and crocodiles, but the most famous masterpiece is to be found in the exedra, a reception hall that separates the two peristyles of this dwelling. It is known as the Great Mosaic and it occupies about 20 square meters with a total number of tiles originally approaching 2 million! Imagine, they are so small that there are up to thirty per square centimeter!...