House of Octavius Quartio, Pompei

The House of Octavius Quartio, previously known as the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, is one of Pompeii’s most distinctive residences. It stands on the Street of Abundance, in an area that became one of the city’s prosperous centers in its final years. The older name comes from election slogans painted on the façade, although Loreius and Tiburtinus may have referred to two different politicians. The property is linked instead to Octavius Quartio, its last known owner.

Occupying an entire city block, the house combined domestic luxury with commercial activity, with shops and food outlets arranged around its perimeter. Inside, it included familiar features of a grand Roman home, such as an atrium with an impluvium for collecting rainwater.

Its greatest attraction is the garden. Behind the summer triclinium, visitors can see the remains of two long decorative water channels, once surrounded by fruit trees, fountains, sculpture, and painted decoration. Two frescoes near the upper fountain show Narcissus, the beautiful youth from Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection, and Pyramus and Thisbe, the tragic Babylonian lovers whose story later influenced Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The frescoes are signed “Lucius pinxit,” meaning “painted by Lucius.”