Visitors to the former residences of wealthy citizens of ancient Rome cannot help but be astonished by their grand architecture and enchanting wall paintings, still vibrant with cinnabar reds, golden yellows, and deep greens. Following an introduction to the Roman domestic ideal that inspired these wall decorations and a discussion of the evolution in painting styles, the author conducts a tour of twenty-eight houses in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and the city of Rome. Here are painted scenes -- rich with fabulous details of illusionistic architecture, Irish gardens, exotic animals, and erotic adventures -- impressive in their display of technical mastery and enduring in their visual impact.

Abridged ed. of: Domus : wall painting in the Roman house.

The Domus Romana: Pictorial Decorations and Cultural Values / Umberto Pappalardo -- The House of the Faun, Pompeii -- The Samnite House, Herculaneum -- The House of Julius Polybius, Pompeii -- The House of the Griffins, Rome, Palatine Hill -- The Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale (Pompeii) -- The Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii -- The Villa of Poppea, Oplontis -- The House of the Labyrinth Pompeii -- Odyssey Landscapes on the Esquiline Hill, Rome -- The House of Livia on the Palatine Hill, Rome -- Livia's Villa at Prima Porta, Rome -- The Villa Farnesina, Rome -- The Villa Imperiale, Pompeii -- The Villa of Agrippa Postumus, Boscotrecase -- The House of the Golden Bracelet, Pompeii -- The House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto, Pompeii -- The House of the Orchard, Pompeii -- The House of the Marine Venus, Pompeii -- The Domus Aurea, Rome -- Murecine, Pompeii -- The House of the Vettii, Pompeii -- The House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii -- The Palaestra, Herculaneum -- The House of the Skeleton, Herculaneum -- The Collegium of the Augustales, Herculaneum -- The House of the Grand Portal, Herculaneum -- The House of the Ceii, Pompeii -- The House of Marcus Fabius Rufus, Pompeii, The Western Insula -- On the Reconstruction of the Spatial Representations in Certain Roman Wall Paintings / Ludovica Bucci de Santis.