Villa of the Mysteries, Pompei (must see)

The Villa of the Mysteries is one of the most well-known buildings in the historic area around Mount Vesuvius. It is not situated within the city walls of Pompeii itself, but lies around 500 meters northwest of the main city boundaries. Believed to be a suburban villa, of a type that was commonplace in Roman times, it can easily be reached on foot from the archaeological centre of Pompeii.

Although it suffered extensive structural damage during the major earthquake of 62 AD, the villa was subsequently rebuilt and converted from a purely luxury estate into a working farmhouse prior to the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius seventeen years later.

The walls of the building are lined with some of the best-kept and most detailed frescoes surviving from the Roman era. The Villa of the Mysteries earned its name from these unusual paintings, found on the walls of the triclinium, a formal dining hall central to the estate. Getting to the triclinium is done by entering the main atrium and turning immediately toward the left-hand corner of the residential quarters.

The frescoes in this dining hall appear to show some form of ritual, although nobody is completely certain of its true purpose. One leading theory suggests that the woman pictured in the frescoes is being inducted into the mystery cult of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. An alternative idea put forward by scholars is that the paintings illustrate a traditional ancient marriage ritual.

Exit the elite dining quarters and walk around the building to the rustic service wing located on the southern side of the property. Set inside these spaces is the rustic wine press room. It features a massive, reconstructed wooden lever and a heavy stone base designed to crush grapes for the estate's private vineyards.

As a final highlight stands the grand outdoor platform housed on the seaward side of the property. Finding this elevated panoramic terrace is done by navigating the villa towards the western front and then passing out of the living rooms through a series of wide doorways. The sight was a masterstroke of late Republican engineering, built as a sprawling, semi-circular veranda to give the wealthy owners sweeping views over the ancient coastline.