Several vivid frescoes have re-emerged during the excavation of Villa di Poppea, an ancient countryside retreat that was frozen in time by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The decorative wall paintings feature peacock figures and the mask of a famous comedic character.

Villa di Poppea is a magnificent luxury villa in the ancient Roman town of Oplontis, south of Naples. Dating to the mid-1st century BCE, it once overlooked the sea and is notable for its sumptuous decorative features. Evidence from the inscriptions on some amphora from the site suggest that the villa may have belonged to Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of Emperor Nero.

The ongoing excavation of the villa complex is currently focused on its western section, a necessary project for the conservation of the wider structure. This work has also provided an opportunity to unearth one of the villa’s most elegant rooms yet, named the Hall of the Peacock. First glimpses of the room’s refined wall decorations have finally emerged, as published in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii’s e-journal.

Fragments of fresco of comedic mask discovered at Villa di Poppea in Italy. Image courtesy of the MIC–Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Some of the highlights include the intact figure of a peacock that mirrors another depiction of the bird on the south portion of the same wall. Elsewhere, fragments have been recovered of a mask that has been connected to the character of Pappus from a type of ancient theatrical comedy known as the Atellan Farce. The figure is an old fool who, in his attempts to appear young, becomes absurd. He is also particularly vulnerable to being deceived by his wife or daughter.

Other important discoveries from recent excavations include four new rooms, in addition to the 99 already known to archaeologists. Casts made out of cavities in the volcanic ash—a well-established method for retaining the forms of lost organic material in Pompeii—have also preserved the footprints of trees that once adorned the garden. We can see that they had been planted in a precise ornamental scheme, echoing the architectural colonnade of the villa’s southern portico.

“These first results offer new and promising research perspectives for our understanding of the plan of the villa and for the study of the interactions between human settlement and the natural environment in the long term,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Fresco of peacock discovered at Villa di Poppea in Italy. Image courtesy of the MIC–Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Elsewhere at Villa di Poppea, two important rooms are currently being restored. These intimate spaces, known as cubicula, were used like modern day bedrooms or private studies. Their rich decoration includes stuccoes, frescoed walls, painted vaults, and floor mosaics, all the work of highly-skilled ancient artisans.

One of the rooms is illusively enlarged thanks to the trompe d’oeil effect of frescoed architectural features, including fake marble. The second room was undergoing a renovation that was only partially finished at the time of eruption. It’s simpler decorative scheme is incomplete but contained floral motifts against monochromatic backgrounds.

Painted details in both rooms are being carefully returned to their original splendor, recovering their full legibility as well as their rich palettes, which include pigments like Egyptian blue.

The Archaeological Park of Pompeii recently announced that it has identified the source of a fresco fragment that had been looted and sold to a private U.S. collection before being repatriated to Italy in 2023. The artwork, which depicts an infant Hercules wrestling with a snake, had been stripped from a lunette in the ancient villa of Civita Giuliana, which is also currently undergoing major excavation work.