The frescoes of Villa dei Misteri (Villa of the Mysteries), an ancient Roman villa at Pompeii ancient city, Italy 1184945411 ancient city, pompeii ruins, roman city, villa dei misteri, villa of the mysteries

Villa dei Misteri

Pompeii

LoginSave

This restored, 90-room villa is one of the most complete structures left standing in Pompeii. The Dionysiac frieze, the most important fresco still on-site, spans the walls of the large dining room. One of the biggest and most arresting paintings from the ancient world, it depicts the initiation of a bride-to-be into the cult of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.

A farm for much of its life, the villa's vino-making area is still visible at the northern end.

Follow Via Consolare northwest out of the town through Porta Ercolano. Continue past Villa di Diomede and you'll come to Villa dei Misteri.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Water carriers from Herculaneum, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

    Museo Archeologico Nazionale

    13.76 MILES

    Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…

  • Royal Palace of Capodimonte, Naples

    Museo di Capodimonte

    14.21 MILES

    Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…

  • NAPLES, ITALY - JUNE 11: The Modesty of Antonio Corradini in the Sansevero Chapel during the reopening to the public on June 11, 2020 in Naples, Italy. The Sansevero Chapel Museum can be visited again after the closure imposed by the lockdown for the covid-19 emergency, exactly thirty years after the reopening to the public after the restoration works which in 1990 returned to the fruition the baroque masterpieces of the chapel commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro and the Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino sculpted in 1753, today a symbol of the Neapolitan Baroque. (Photo by Ivan Romano/Getty Images) 1249041534

    Cappella Sansevero

    13.41 MILES

    It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil…

  • Carved head, Casa dei Nettuno e Anfitrite, Herculaneum.

    Ruins of Herculaneum

    7.76 MILES

    Herculaneum harbours a wealth of archaeological finds, from ancient advertisements and stylish mosaics to carbonised furniture and terror-struck skeletons…

  • Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii 60092; Accidents and Disasters; Ancient; Ancient Civilization; Antiquities; Archaeology; Architectural Column; Architecture; Asia; Atlantic Islands; Boulder - Rock; Buried; Campania; City; Demolished; Disaster; Empire; Environmental Damage; Ephesus; Flores; Flores Island - Indonesia; Fortified Wall; Green Color; History; Horizontal; Italian Culture; Italian Currency; Italy; Landscape; Misfortune; Monte; Monument; Mountain; Mountain Range; Mt Vesuvius; Naples - Italy; No People; Old; Old Ruin; Outdoors; Photography; Pompeii; Rock - Object; Social Issues; Sorrento - Italy; Statue; Stone - Object; Stone Material; Temple - Building; The Past; Tower; Travel Destinations; UNESCO; UNESCO World Heritage Site; Volcanic Landscape; Wall - Building Feature;

    Ruins of Pompeii

    0.6 MILES

    The ghostly ruins of ancient Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) make for one of the world's most engrossing archaeological experiences. Much of the site's value…

  • Scenic picture view of the city of Naples Napoli with famous Mount Vesuvius in the background from Certosa di San Martino monastery, Campania, Italy; Shutterstock ID 2105276987; purchase_order: 65050; job: poi; client: ; other: 2105276987

    Certosa e Museo di San Martino

    13.88 MILES

    The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368…

  • Burial chamber at the San Gennaro Catacombs

    Catacombe di San Gennaro

    14.29 MILES

    Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully…

  • View of Castello Aragonese

    Castello Aragonese

    26.93 MILES

    There are castles and then there’s Ischia’s Castello Aragonese, a veritable fort-city set on its own craggy islet, looking like a cross between Harry…

View more attractions

Nearby Pompeii attractions

1. Villa di Diomede

0.1 MILES

A once-elegant ancient villa attributed to Marcus Arrius Diomedes, whose tomb lies opposite the monumental entrance.

2. Porta Ercolano

0.22 MILES

One of Pompeii's ancient city gates, Porta Ercolano was designed with three passageways. While the central one was used for vehicles, the two peripheral…

3. Casa dei Vettii

0.39 MILES

The Casa dei Vettii is home to a famous depiction of Priapus with his gigantic phallus balanced on a pair of scales…much to the anxiety of many a male…

4. Casa del Poeta Tragico

0.39 MILES

The 1st-century AD Casa del Poeta Tragico features the world's first-known 'beware of the dog' – cave canem – warnings. Visible through a protective glass…

5. Casa del Fauno

0.4 MILES

Covering an entire insula (city block) and claiming two atria at its front end (humbler homes had one), Pompeii's largest private house is named after the…

7. Terme Suburbane

0.43 MILES

Just outside ancient Pompeii's city walls, this 1st-century-BC bathhouse is famous for several erotic frescoes that scandalised the Vatican when they were…

8. Porta Marina

0.44 MILES

The ruin of Pompeii's main entrance is at Porta Marina, the most impressive of the seven gates that punctuated the ancient town walls. A busy passageway…