Villa Poppaea

Villa Poppaea
The Villa Poppaea as seen from the garden in front
Alternative nameVilla Oplontis, Villa A
LocationTorre Annunziata, Province of Naples, Campania, Italy
Coordinates40°45′26″N 14°27′9″E / 40.75722°N 14.45250°E / 40.75722; 14.45250
TypeRoman villa
Part ofOplontis
Site notes
ManagementSoprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei
WebsiteOplontis (in Italian and English)
Official nameArchaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Torre Annunziata
TypeCultural
Criteriaiii, iv, v
Designated1997 (21st session)
Reference no.829-006
RegionEurope and North America

The Villa Poppaea is an ancient luxurious Roman seaside villa (villa maritima) located in Torre Annunziata between Naples and Sorrento, in Southern Italy. It is also called the Villa Oplontis or Oplontis Villa A[1] as it was situated in the ancient Roman town of Oplontis.

It was buried and preserved in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, like the nearby cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, about 10 m (33 ft) below modern ground level.

The quality of the decorations and construction suggests that it was owned by the Emperor Nero and a pottery shard bearing the name of a freedman of Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of the emperor Nero was found at the site, which suggests the villa may have been her residence when she was away from Rome and which gives it its popular name.[2]

It was sumptuously decorated with fine works of art.[3] Its marble columns and capitals mark it out as being especially luxurious compared with others in this region which usually had stuccoed brick columns.

Many artifacts from Oplontis are preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

  1. ^ Coarelli 2002, p. 360.
  2. ^ Coarelli 2002, p. 365.
  3. ^ Oplontis. Villa di Poppea or Villa of Poppea or Villa Poppaea or Oplontis Villa A. https://www.pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/VF/Villa_055%20Oplontis%20Villa%20of%20Poppea%20p29.htm