Archeologists Uncover New Frescoes at Villa di Poppea Outside Naples

Archaeologists have begun to uncover frescoes in the Masks and Peacock Rooms of the Villa di Poppaea in Oplontis, near Torre Annunziata outside Naples. Their discovery is part of an ongoing excavation and restoration project that began nearly a year ago, according to a release from the Pompeii Archaeological Park.

According to a press release, these recently restored frescoes, completed in a second style, reveal the hall’s “true size and richness of decoration” and offer “the first glimpse of the exquisite frescoes, including vibrant peacocks and masks.”

The villa was built in the mid-1st century BC and is believed to have been the residence of Nero’s second wife, Poppaea Sabina. It is famous for its high level of decoration, as well as for its views of the Bay of Naples, as these restored frescoes attest. The villa was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.

The newly discovered images include “a complete image of a peacock, echoing the male specimen found south of the same wall, and several fragments of stage masks depicting characters from the Attalan comedies.” The latter discovery is noteworthy because other fragments in the room also speak to the tragedy.

Additionally, the excavation team was able to identify the location of trees that once lined the garden, “part of a precise decorative scheme that doubled the colonnade of the southern portico.” This is accomplished through a casting technique that reveals their imprints.

Four new rooms were also discovered during recent excavations, including “a back room that may have been part of a thermal bath,” bringing the total number of rooms in the villa to 103.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, said in a statement: “Despite the presence of traces and interpretive efforts at the time of the first excavations, many uncertainties remain to this day about the true direction of this area and its surroundings. The current excavations will be able to clarify this, while also revealing new sections decorated with extraordinary details and colors, some of which we can already admire in preview.”