La "Villa delle colonne" a mosaico (Pompeya)

Laburpena

"Villa delle colonne a mosaic" is located outside the walls of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. The villa's name is a reference to the magnificent columns covered "ith delicate mosaics which were discovered in the main garden of the villa during the first excavation works in (1827- 1838) and now they are shown at the Archeological National museum of Naples. This attractive suburban villa is located near Herculaneum Gate. Nowadays, this is an area with scarce information and recent studies because most of the studies have been focused on the "domus" inside the city walls. Therefore, this article presents a detailed and deep review of the bibliography about the "Villa delle colonne a mosaic". lt starts with a reading about its discovery from the valuable sources as the work of W. Schulz or the archaeological diaries of Giuseppe Fiorelli. Afterwards, this chapter analyses this villa thorough an accurate description of the house. This work also deals with the most relevant artistic remains as the co quoted before: one "oscillium", two "pinakes" and a sculpture of a "putto". Other artistic pieces as two "thymateria". a small sculpture of the god Path and some Bacchic masks have been quoted in the bibliography of the nineteenth century but it have never been catalogued . All of this pieces as well as the decoration of floors and walls with mosaics and frescoes conserved "in situ" are studied with special attention in order to show the variety of iconographical topics. Comparing with other "villae", we can also found them in other similar context in the Vesuvian area. These pieces will be presented in context in order to see the purpose at the time. The article speaks also about the complex plan of the villa in which it can be observed some attached "tabernae", several gardens, and diverse rooms with unknown functions in very bad condition of conservation. The condition of this villa was even worst because of the British American bombing on 18 September 1943. In addition, the excavations in the villa 'were never completed and some areas are still untouched. For this reason, new archaeological excavation at this area could bring to light new data. In this way, it can be found uncommon special features comparing with others villas of' the Vesuvian area: there is a tomb that seems to be inside the structure of this villa in which the famous and well-known "Vaso azul" was discovered. Other non-common feature is the existence of numerous small rooms that has been interpreted as a hostel or a shelter for travellers or merchants that come or go to Herculaneum.