Great opportunity knocks doors for history buffs as an ancient Roman home that was buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius is now reopen to the public.
Back story? The volcanic eruption occurred back in AD 79, and this house was shut for the last 36 years. But people now are glad to hear this news and look forward to visit.
If you are unfamiliar with this attraction, I will help you with its location, brief history, timings and ticket price.
Keep reading to know…
The house is located in Herculaneum (ancient city in Italy), and is a three-storey building known as the ‘Bicentenary House’. Similar like Pompeii, Herculaneum too was destroyed by the volcano nearby, and this particular house was discovered in 1938. An extremely important artwork has now been preserved in the house by excellent restoration work. Moreover, the Bicentenary House was being mishandled, and was declared unsteady, and therefore, closed for public in 1983. According to Leslie Rainer, the site itself is a jewel, and appraises this world heritage piece to be very unique.
Fun fact – Unlike its neighbor Pompeii, Herculaneum is a much smaller city. Also, the ruins of Herculaneum are better saved because they were buried in a deeper mass of ash. Some experts also say that the city was wealthier than Pompeii.
The Bicentenary House was home to Gaius Petronius Stephanus, and his wife Calatonia Themis. It is said that it was one of the finest private houses in the city that included mosaic floors, and frescoes with mythological scenes, and animal motifs depicted on them.
Did You Know? The main wooden grill at the entrance of the house survived the volcano, and is today 2000 years old.
With great precaution and care, the conservation team has now managed to restore the frescoes and other artworks.
I would suggest you to arrive early at the Herculaneum excavations to buy the cheapest tickets. You can then enjoy a pleasant visit of the archaeological site near Pompeii and Naples before tour groups and crowds arrive.
Admission is free for children under 18 and EU nationals over 65.
The cheapest tickets of Herculaneum (Scavi di Ercolano) are sold at the ticket windows directly at the archaeological site.
Basic admission tickets for the Herculaneum excavations are:
All visitors to Herculaneum home need to pick up a ticket at the ticket window, including online vouchers or mobile tickets and free tickets for children and pensioners.
TIP: Pick up the map and information booklet at the stand near the ticket window. Remember that the maps are not available once past the ticket check point and re-entries are not allowed.
This attraction usually does not operate a fast-lane skip-the-queue ticket window but visitors with online tickets or the Campania Arte Card may go to the front of the queue.
Priority entrance tickets to Bicentenary House come at a price premium and may be worth it at busy times but are usually not required when arriving early, or late, or outside the high season.
“I am that person who dropped her B.Tech (really!) and chose to travel, specifically travel blogging. I’m Manmeet Kaur, a crazy, fun loving and adventurous person from Delhi. I knew I had an interest in writing since I was in school. I didn’t want to be an engineer, doctor or I would say a teacher. My plans were different. I wanted to travel which I guess no one, specially girl had chosen to do in my family for a living. And like other human beings on this planet I have big dreams too. But my ultimate dream is to travel the world and share my experiences through writing and blogging.” 🙂
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