Pompeii Archaeological Site

Walk through frozen-in-time thermopolia (Roman wine bars), see carbonized wine vessels, and read graffiti about wine that's nearly 2,000 years old. Pompeii had over 200 bars and taverns serving wine to its 20,000 residents.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Find the Counter Where the Fresco IS the Menu Wine · Price: moderate

   Look at the fresco painted on the L-shaped marble counter — you'll see two mallard ducks. Archaeologists found an actual fragment of mallard duck bone inside the same jar at the Thermopolium of Regio V (northern part of the site, crossroads of Vicolo delle Nozze d'Argento and Vicolo dei Balconi). The kitchen painted exactly what they were selling — the world's oldest illustrated menu. Touch the edge of the counter where 2,000 years of hands have rested, then find the wine dolium where archaeologists discovered ground fava beans at the bottom. The Roman cookbook Apicius explains they were grinding beans into wine to bleach it and modify its color — doctoring wine at a fast food counter in 79 AD. Buy the Pompeii Plus ticket (€22 at vivaticket.com — mandatory pre-booking), walk through Porta Marina, bear northeast toward Regio V. Ask staff for 'il termopolio di Regio V' and arrive before 10am for the best light on the frescoes.

   Backup: If Regio V is temporarily closed (ongoing excavation), find the Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus on Via dell'Abbondanza (I,8,8) — excavators found 1,385 bronze coins still at the counter.

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2. 2 Read the Three-Tier Wine Price List Carved in Stone History · Free

   Read the words carved into the wall 2,000 years ago at the Bar of Hedone (VII.2.44, corner of the Street of the Augustales): 'You can drink here for one as. If you give two, you will drink better. If you give four, you will drink Falernian.' One as was the smallest Roman coin, Falernian was the most prized wine in the empire, aged 15-20 years — three quality tiers at the same counter. Then find the Bar of Prima (I.10.2-3) and read where two men named Successus and Severus argued over barmaid Iris in 79 AD. Severus got the last word: 'I have spoken. I have written all there is to say. You love Iris, but she does not love you.' Walk slowly along Via dell'Abbondanza looking at walls at eye level. Download the free official Pompeii site app — it shows inscription locations with translations marked by small reference numbers on the stones.

   Backup: If individual inscriptions are hard to locate, the audio guide specifically covers wine-related graffiti. The sheer density of visible writing on every wall is its own revelation even without specific inscription IDs.

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3. 3 Discover Where Wine Became a Mystery Religion Wine · Price: moderate

   Enter Room 5 and walk the perimeter slowly, left to right, following 29 life-size figures painted on all four walls around 70-60 BC at the Villa of the Mysteries (400m northwest of city walls via Porta Ercolano, then Via dei Sepolcri). A satyr plays double flute. A maenad performs acrobatic wine libation, squirting wine from a drinking horn into a flat bowl. Scholars have argued for a century about what exactly is happening — mystery religion initiates were sworn to secrecy. The answer is lost. But this was painted above a working winery — wine presses operated in the basement of this same villa. The most powerful wine-religion painting in the ancient world was commissioned by someone making wine in the cellar below. Go late afternoon when tour groups thin out. The villa is less crowded than the main site, and the famous Pompeii red pigment is still vivid after 2,000 years.

   Backup: If the villa is temporarily closed for conservation work, the National Archaeological Museum in Naples holds removed Pompeii frescoes in its permanent collection. But the Villa dei Misteri frescoes are fixed in situ and cannot be moved.

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4. 4 Kneel in the Vineyard Where the Vines Were Lost Twice Adventure · Free

   Crouch down and look at the ground beyond the glass enclosure holding 13 body casts — the depressions in volcanic soil are vine stake holes from 79 AD, preserved under ash for 1,900 years at the Garden of the Fugitives (Orto dei Fuggiaschi, Regio I, Insula 21, southeastern part of site). In 1990, Mastroberardino used DNA testing on grape seeds from the ash to identify original varieties: Piedirosso and Sciascinoso. They replanted vines in those exact holes, at ancient Roman density. In 2001, they released Villa dei Misteri Pompeiano IGT — grapes were still on the vines when Vesuvius erupted on October 24, 79 AD. The heartbreak: after a management change, the vines were uprooted. 2021 was the last vintage. The vineyard that grew inside Pompeii ruins no longer exists. Find the enclosure near the southeastern wall before 11am or after 3pm to avoid group tours.

   Backup: The vine trellises and replanted vines in the surrounding garden are always visible. The body casts in the glass enclosure are the main draw and always accessible.

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5. 5 Toast Vesuvius with the Wine Martial Said the Gods Preferred Wine · Price: low · Optional

   Taste Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio DOC — 'Tears of Christ' — grown on the volcanic slopes you've been staring at all day outside the Porta Marina exit (town of Pompeii, 5-minute walk from train station). The first evidence of grape cultivation here dates to the 5th century BC, brought by the Aminei people from Thessaly — 500 years before the city you just walked through was built. The poet Martial, writing in 79 AD — the very year of the eruption — wrote that Bacchus preferred these Vesuvian hillsides to all others. Archaeologists analyzing microscopic residue on ancient cask taps identified Lacryma Christi as the nearest modern equivalent to what the Romans actually drank. Ask any wine shop for 'Lacryma Christi Bianco DOC' from Cantina del Vesuvio or Villa Dora (€8-15 bottle; €4-6 glass). Choose the white for afternoon drinking — Coda di Volpe and Verdeca give apricot and volcanic mineral notes unlike anything grown anywhere else.

   Backup: If Lacryma Christi is unavailable, ask for Falanghina del Sannio — also ancient, also Campanian indigenous, genuinely excellent.

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Insider tips

• The Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus has the best-preserved wine bar counter

• Look for carbonized grapes and seeds in the Antiquarium museum

• Visit the Villa of the Mysteries for stunning Dionysiac frescoes

• Arrive at 8:30 AM opening to avoid crowds