VI.17.5 Pompeii. House of Popidius Rufus.

Linked to shop at VI.17.6. Excavated 1804?.

According to Fiorelli -

VI.17.5 and 6 - “Vi e appresso una bottega, preceduta dall’adito all’abitazione del bottegaio, che vi possedeva un atrio tetrastilo col suo impluvio, e la gradinata per accedere alle celle superiori”.

See Fiorelli, G. (1875). Descrizione di Pompei, (p.432)

See Pappalardo, U., 2001. La Descrizione di Pompei per Giuseppe Fiorelli (1875). Napoli: Massa Editore. (p.158).

(translation - "There is a shop nearby, preceded by the entrance to the house of the shopkeeper, which had a tetrastyle atrium with its impluvium, and the steps to access the rooms on the upper floor”.)

VI.17.5 Pompeii, in centre. September 2021.

Looking towards entrance doorway and corridor on west side of Via Consolare. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. 1824 plan of house drawn by Mazois, with descriptive numbers.

He described the house as belonging to a small merchant, “one of the less fortunate”.

It contained:

an entrance corridor (1),

a shop (2),

a covered courtyard (3), where the roof is supported by columns, and which forms a kind of atrium pseudotetrastyle, with an impluvium or basin (4) to receive the rain-water,

a bedroom (5) for the master,

another small room, for the servant or slave, which we get to by way of a wooden staircase (6),

and last below, a small kitchen (7).

See Mazois, F., 1824. Les Ruines de Pompei: Second Partie. Paris: Firmin Didot. (p.45, Pl IX. fig. I)

VI.17.5 Pompeii. 1824 cross-section of house drawn by Mazois, looking south.

According to Mazois, this is the cross-section of this house shown along the length of the corridor.

The columns of the courtyard are painted red to one-third of their height, the rest is white.

All that which is above the punctuated line, no longer exists, I was obliged to assume the idea of what this small building would be this like; but the clues that the ruins offer me, and the comments I made on the construction of the houses of Pompeii, allow me to make this restoration as real as possible.

See Mazois, F., 1824. Les Ruines de Pompei: Second Partie. Paris: Firmin Didot. (p.45, Pl IX. fig. IV).

VI.17.5 Pompeii. May 2011. Looking west to entrance doorway.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. December 2005.

Doorway to House of Popidius Rufus, in centre of picture, looking towards north wall of entrance fauces/corridor.

Found in April 1770 was a painted electoral recommendation. It read –

Popidium Rufum aed(ilem)

oro vos faciatis    [CIL IV 116]

See Pagano, M. and Prisciandaro, R., 2006. Studio sulle provenienze degli oggetti rinvenuti negli scavi borbonici del regno di Napoli. Naples: Nicola Longobardi. (p.67)  PAH I, 1, 238, add.155.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. December 2006. Entrance doorway, looking west towards south wall of entrance corridor/fauces.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. September 2021.

Looking west along entrance corridor towards atrium (courtyard).  Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. December 2006. Looking west along entrance corridor towards atrium (courtyard). 

VI.17.5 Pompeii. December 2004. Looking west from entrance doorway towards atrium. 

VI.17.5 Pompeii. September 2021. Detail from west wall of atrium. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. December 2006. Looking west to atrium, and impluvium. 

VI.17.5 Pompeii. September 2021.

Looking west along north wall of atrium towards two semi-columns on north side of impluvium. 

Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. September 2021. Looking west towards impluvium in atrium. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. December 2006. Looking west to impluvium, built against north wall of atrium.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. September 2021.

Looking north-west across atrium towards impluvium, taken through wide doorway from VI.17.6. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. May 2011. Looking north to impluvium, built against north wall of atrium.

Two semi-columns are seen against the north wall, there would have been another two full columns on both (near) corners of the impluvium.

The columns would have been painted white, with the lower third painted red.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. May 2011.

Looking north-east from atrium towards entrance corridor, centre, and wide opening linking with the shop at VI.17.6, on right.

VI.17.5 Pompeii. May 2011. Looking into bedroom (cubiculum) on south side of atrium.