Villa Boscoreale
Villa Regina, view from above.
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| Location | Boscoreale, Province of Naples, Campania, Italy |
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| Region | Magna Graecia |
| Coordinates | 40°45′41″N 14°28′17″E / 40.761389°N 14.471389°ECoordinates: 40°45′41″N 14°28′17″E / 40.761389°N 14.471389°E |
| Type | Dwelling |
| Site notes | |
| Management | Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Pompei, Ercolano e Stabia |
| Website | Sito Archeologico di Boscoreale (Italian) |
Villa Boscoreale (Italian pronunciation: [ˈvilla boskoˈreaːle]) refers to one of at least four ancient Roman villas that have been discovered and excavated in the town of Boscoreale, about 1.5 km north of Pompeii, southeast of Vesuvius whose eruption buried them. The only one visible in situ today is the Villa Regina, the others being reburied soon after their discovery at the end of the 19th century. Nevertheless the exquisite frescoes from the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, and the sumptuous silver collection of the Villa della Pisanella are among the objects that can be seen, distributed among several major museums. Also finds from the Villa del fondo Ippolito Zurlo are in several museums.
In Roman times this area was agricultural, specialising in wine and olive oil.
Several other Roman villas were discovered in the vicinity generally from the end of the 19th century by "treasure" hunters and then reburied, including the villas:
Information on, and objects from, the villas can be seen in the nearby Antiquarium di Boscoreale.
This rustic villa was discovered more recently in 1977 and therefore has been preserved in its complete state as buried 8m below ground level. The villa is a comfortable working farm rather than a luxurious estate that others nearby were. Nonetheless an elegant central courtyard is colonnaded on three sides with columns of red and white stucco.
Large quantities of pottery and farm implements were found. Plaster casts of the original entrance doors were made from the hollow spaces left. A plaster cast of a pig found here and killed in the catastrophe was also made.
It also includes preserved parts of a wine press. Near the centre of the the villa is the wine cellar in which 18 dolia, of total capacity 10,000 litres, were buried for storing the must from the adjoining press.
An unusual find was an oil lamp dating from the 3-5th c. AD showing that the place was tunnelled into in the later Roman era.
The holes in the ground left by the roots of the Roman vines were found and vines have again been planted in them.
Although the villa was of relatively modest size compared to others in the area and had no atrium, pool or sculpture collection, its frescoes were exceptional in their beauty and quality.
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Wikipedia