VII.12.35 Pompeii. The Inn on Vicolo di Eumachia.

Linked to VII.12.34 and VII.12.36. Excavated 1863.(Vico d’Eumachia 15).

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii. December 2005. Entrance doorway, looking north-east into room (a), on plan below. 

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii. March 2009. Looking east into remains of Inn.

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii. December 2005. Remains of floor in room (a). 

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii.  September 2004. 

Looking west onto Vicolo di Eumachia. VII.12.35 in foreground with doorway to VII.12.34., in centre

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii. September 2004. Looking west across VII.12.35, room (a) in foreground

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii. December 2004.

Looking north towards two of the cubicula on the north side, in foreground. (c and d, on plan below)

VII.12.35 Pompeii. December 2004. Looking east towards two cubicula, and across top towards VII.12.28. (f and g on plan, below)

 

VII.12.35 Pompeii. 1899, plan by Mau of the Inn on Vicolo di Eumachia.

See Mau, A., 1907, translated by Kelsey, F. W., Pompeii: Its Life and Art. New York: Macmillan. (p. 400-401).

The arrangement of rooms here is so unlike that of an ordinary house, the building must have been designed as a tavern from the very beginning.

 

According to Mau, the main room (room a), the large covered atrium which probably served as a dining room, was entered directly from the street. 

At one side was the kitchen (room h), 6 sleeping rooms (rooms b-g) open upon the other sides. 

A short passage (room i) led from the main atrium room to the stalls (room k) in front of which was a watering trough. 

The vehicles were probably crowded into the recess at (room m) or the front of (room a). 

The two side rooms (rooms l and p) were latrines.

 

But the landlord did not only provide for guests from out of town: he also endeavoured to attract local patronage, by means of a wineshop (room n)  at VII.12.34, which opened upon the street, and had a separate dining room (room o), with a latrine at the rear (room l). 

 

The walls of several of the rooms contained graffiti, scratched into the walls by the guests.

 

Found in room c, –

 

Gaius Valerius Venustus, soldier of the first praetorian cohort enrolled in the century of Rufus, the greatest of all ……   [CIL IV 2145]

Vibius Restitutus slept here alone, longing for his Urbana.    [CIL IV 2146]

 

According to Mau, four players, one of them a Martial, passed a night together in the same apartment.    [CIL IV 2155]

 

Found in the next room (d) a patriotic citizen of Puteoli left a greeting for his native town -

Good fortune to the colonia Claudia Neronensis of Puteoli  Gaius Julius Speratus wrote this.    [CIL IV 2152]

 

Found in room (f)

Lucifer and Primigenius came this way.   [CIL IV 2156]

 

Found in room (g)

Lucceius Albanus of Abellinum with ….    [CIL IV 2159 Abellinum = Avellino) 

 

According to Della Corte, many graffiti were written on the walls by the customers [CIL IV 2144-2164]

See Della Corte, M., 1965.  Case ed Abitanti di Pompei. Napoli: Fausto Fiorentino. (p.201).

According to Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby (See www.manfredclauss.de), these were -

 

Vibius       [CIL IV  2144]

Caius() Valerius Venustus m(iles) c(o)h(ortis) I pr(aetoriae)

|(centuria) Rufi fututul() maximum       [CIL IV  2145]  and see above.

Vibius Restitutus hic

solus dormivit et Urbanam

suam desiderabat       [CIL IV  2146]  and see above.

 

Fuit

hic //

M(arcus) Clodiu

Primo         [CIL IV  2147]  (Translated by Berry as - Marcus Clodius Primio was here).

Rutilus       [CIL IV  2147a]

Egloge

have            [CIL IV  2148]

 

Phoebus    [CIL IV  2149]

VIIIIIIIIIII       [CIL IV  2149a]

Castre(n)sis vale

Castre(n)sis va(le)

calos Actio

Castre(n)sis va(le)

Anicete va(le)                 [CIL IV  2150]

Iustus Myrsine v[          [CIL IV  2151]

Coloniae Clau(diae)

Nerone(n)si Put<e=I>olan(a)e

Feliciter

scripsit C(aius) Iulius Speratus

Sperate va(le)                [CIL IV  2152] and see above.

 

Lucida Ci[                       [CIL IV  2153]

Pyrrichus Salvio sodali sal(utem)       [CIL IV  2154]

C(aius) Cominius Pyrrichus et

L(ucius) Novius Priscus et L(ucius) Campius

Primigenius fanatici tres

a pulvinar(io) Synethaei(!)

hic fuerunt cum Martiale

sodale Actiani Anicetiani

sinceri Salvio sodali feliciter       [CIL IV  2155] and see above.

Lucifer

et Primige

nius hac       [CIL IV  2156] and see above.

C(aius) Valerius Maximus

mil<e=I>s domus           [CIL IV  2157]

XXXXII

LXIIII

LXXX

XXXXII

LV

LV

|() VIII             [CIL IV  2158]

Lucceius Albanus

Abellinas cum

Travio Aetio       [CIL IV  2159] and see above.

 

Thes/mus      [CIL IV  2160]

Nica                [CIL IV  2161]

Panta M()       [CIL IV  2162]

Saenecio

Fortunato

Plurimam

Salutem

ubique            [CIL IV  2163]

 

"GR"               [CIL IV  2164] (written in Greek)

See Mau, A., 1907, translated by Kelsey, F. W., Pompeii: Its Life and Art. New York: Macmillan. (p. 400-401)

See Berry, J., 2007. The Complete Pompeii. London, Thames & Hudson, (p.103 translation of CIL IV 2147, 2152, 2156)

See Varone, A., 2002. Erotica Pompeiana: Love Inscriptions on the Walls of Pompeii, Rome: L’erma di Bretschneider. (p.21 for CIL IV 2146)

See Varone, A., 2002. Erotica Pompeiana: Love Inscriptions on the Walls of Pompeii, Rome: L’erma di Bretschneider. (p.67 for CIL IV 2145)