Roman archaeological site · 1st century AD · Torre Annunziata, Italy

Villa of Poppea, Excavations of Oplontis

Oplontis is an ancient Roman archaeological site located in the town of Torre Annunziata, south of Naples in Campania, southern Italy. The site preserves two Roman villas buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE; the most celebrated is Villa A, traditionally identified as the Villa Poppaea — a vast luxury residence believed to have belonged to Poppaea Sabina, second wife of Emperor Nero. Together with Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae, Oplontis forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage “Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata,” inscribed in 1997.

Type: Roman villa; UNESCO World Heritage Site
Period: Villa A constructed c. 1st century BC, expanded to 1st century AD; buried 79 CE
Style: Roman residential architecture (Second and Third Style wall painting)
Location: Via dei Sepolcri, Torre Annunziata, Napoli NA, Italy
Coordinates: 40.7575° N, 14.4522° E

Overview

The excavated site at Oplontis comprises two distinct Roman villas: Villa A (Villa Poppaea), a grand otium residence with more than 90 rooms, and Villa B (Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius), a commercial complex used for the storage and trade of agricultural products. Villa A covers approximately 11,000 square metres and is celebrated for the exceptional quality and preservation of its wall paintings, among the finest surviving examples of Second Style Roman fresco. Systematic excavations have been conducted since the 18th century, with major campaigns continuing through the late 20th century.

History

The ancient settlement of Oplontis is mentioned in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a medieval copy of a Roman road map, as a stopping point on the road south from Naples. Villa A was under construction or renovation at the time of the 79 CE eruption — workers’ tools and building materials were found on site — suggesting the property had been damaged in the 62 CE earthquake and was being repaired. Excavations in the Bourbon period (1738–1782) exposed parts of the villa, but systematic investigation only resumed under the Soprintendenza Archeologia di Napoli beginning in the 1960s, when the full extent of the structure was revealed.

What you see

The atrium, triclinium, and peristyle gardens of Villa A display wall paintings in vivid reds, yellows, and greens featuring architectural trompe-l’oeil perspectives, mythological figures, and still-life compositions of remarkable technical mastery. A large swimming pool (piscina) measuring 61 by 17 metres dominates the western garden, flanked by statues of centaurs and other mythological creatures. In the eastern rooms, a group of skeletons was discovered along with jewellery and coins, poignant evidence of residents who sought shelter and perished when the eruption’s pyroclastic surges struck in the early hours of 25 August 79 CE.

Cultural significance

Oplontis provides an irreplaceable window into the private life and artistic taste of the Roman elite in the 1st century AD, complementing the urban evidence from nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum with the perspective of a large rural and maritime villa. Its inclusion in the UNESCO serial site underscores its universal value as testimony to the wealth, craftsmanship, and cultural sophistication of the Vesuvian cities before their catastrophic destruction.

Practical information

Address: Via dei Sepolcri, Torre Annunziata, NA, Italy
Opening hours: Check the Parco Archeologico di Ercolano website for current hours and admission fees
Combined ticket: A combined ticket covers Oplontis together with Herculaneum and Stabiae

Getting there

Torre Annunziata is served by the Circumvesuviana railway on the Naples–Sorrento line; the Torre Annunziata–Oplonti station is a 10-minute walk from the site entrance. By car, exit the A3 motorway at Torre Annunziata Nord and follow signs for “Scavi di Oplonti.” The site is approximately 25 km south of Naples city centre.

Sources & resources

Find it on the map

Google Maps See the location on a full map → Street View Walk around the place virtually → OpenStreetMap Free community cartography →

The excavations of Oplontis are located in the center of the modern city of Torre Annunziata. The name Oplontis is only attested in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a medieval copy of an ancient map of the Italian roads of the Roman Empire, in which Oplontis indicates some structures located between Pompeii and Herculaneum.



A series of archaeological finds, actually related to a suburban area of â€‹â€‹Pompeii, have been attributed to Oplontis:
- a residential villa, the villa of &quot;Poppea&quot;;
- a rustic villa attributed to L. Crassius Tertius, in which, alongside numerous bodies of victims of the eruption, a considerable quantity of gold and silver coins was found, together with numerous pieces of the finest goldsmith&#39;s art;
- a thermal structure, at the Oncino, under the current Terme Nunziante, attributed by A. Maiuri to the consul M. Crassus Frugi.



The main monument, the only one that can be visited, is the villa of Poppea, included among the assets that UNESCO has defined as a &quot;World Heritage Site&quot;. Built towards the middle of the first century. BC, was enlarged in the imperial age, and was already being restored at the time of the eruption. Its property is attributed to Poppea Sabina, second wife of the emperor Nero, but in any case belonging to the patrimony of the imperial family.



Among the Vesuvian archaeological sites, buried following the dramatic eruption of 79 AD, Oplontis is probably the one that offers the most significant monumental evidence of the Pompeian suburb.



The set of buildings of the Roman age found, a beginning from the Bourbon period, in the modern city of Torre Annunziata, is referable to a real peripheral urban center, subject to the administrative jurisdiction of Pompeii.



What characterizes Oplontis is the presence of two monumental buildings of destination: villa A (so-called Villa di Poppea), a grandiose and luxurious residential complex and villa B (by L. Crassius Tertius), currently not open to the public. , corresponding to a company whose activity was centered on the processing of land products, in particular wine and oil.



Currently the only visitable monument of ancient Oplontis is a large residential villa, not entirely brought to light, dating back to the mid-first century BC. and enlarged in the early imperial age. In ancient times the villa overlooked the sea in a panoramic position and was equipped with splendid decorative elements of which exceptional testimonies are preserved.



It could have belonged to Poppaea Sabina, second wife of Emperor Nero, or to his family&#39;s heritage, based on the testimony of an inscription painted on an amphora mentioning Sucundus, one of his slave or freedmen. At the time of the eruption the building must have been largely uninhabited due to work in progress, perhaps started following seismic damage, which involved the removal of many architectural and decorative elements.

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/villa-of-poppea-excavations-of-oplontis-l4112/

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Villa of Poppea, excavations of Oplontis