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Things to Do in Herculaneum

Thermapolium, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
Thermapolium, Herculaneum
by toonsarah
Reviews and photos of Herculaneum attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Herculaneum sightseeing.
Local Time 11:56 pm Friday, July 25, 2008
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The House with the Large Portal
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  • By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • Fresco, House with the Large Portal, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    Fresco, House with the Large
    Portal, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah, 2 more photos
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    This house takes its name from the lovely half-columned portal, with brick lintel and cornice, which was built after the earthquake in 62 AD, reusing earlier Hellenistic tufa capitals symbolizing Victory. It is situated on the street that runs across the complex, the Decumano Inferiore, from where my photo of the portal was taken (photo 3).

    Inside you’ll find some beautiful frescoes in what is described as the “fourth style”; these date from the second half of the 1st century AD and are imaginative and figurative in style, rather than being purely geometric as some earlier ones were. I loved the little quail in my photo, one of several in the small courtyard which is decorated with garden paintings. My other photo is of a panel depicting Silenus seated between two satyrs, observing Ariadne and Dionysus, which is in the triclinium or dining room.

  • Directions: On the Decumano Inferiore

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    The House of Neptune & Amphitrite
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  • Updated By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • The House of Neptune & Amphitrite, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    The House of Neptune &
    Amphitrite, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah, 1 more photos
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    This is another richly decorated house, and the wall mosaics are particularly well-preserved. Its name derives from the glass paste wall mosaic depicting Neptune and Amphitrite, which adorns the east wall of the room (main photo).

    On the north side is a nymphaeum, with niches for statues, also covered with a glass paste mosaic (second photo). This shows dogs chasing deer and is topped with a frieze of marble theatrical masks. Above this niche area is the tank that fed the fountain. I reckon some of the decorative elements of this mosaic-work wouldn’t look out of place in a modern bathroom, though we might (or might not!) baulk at the near naked figures.

  • Directions: This house is in the central part of town, off the Cardo IV Superiore.

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    The Hall of the Augustals
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  • By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • The Hall of the Augustals, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    The Hall of the Augustals,
    Herculaneum
    by toonsarah, 1 more photos
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    I thought this building had some of the best of the frescoes we saw in Herculaneum, although they were harder to photograph as they are cordoned off and you can’t stand directly in front of them.

    The Augustals were an upwardly mobile group of freed slaves, or liberta, who worshiped the emperor Augustus from this meeting hall near the forum. The frescoes are found in a cell within the hall. The one on the left wall (main photo) shows the entrance of Hercules to Olympus, accompanied by Jupiter (in the form of a rainbow), Juno and Minerva; the one on the right (photo 2) shows a battle between Hercules and the Etruscan god Acheloo. In a caretaker's room at the back a skeleton was found lying on the bed.

  • Directions: The Hall of the Augustals is in the far left corner of the complex as you look from the entrance path.

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    The House of the Skeleton
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  • By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • The House of the Skeleton, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    The House of the
    Skeleton, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah
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    This house is so-called because of the skeleton that was discovered on its upper floor, one of only a few found in the main part of the town (most residents appear to have fled or to have gathered on the beach, where their skeletons were found huddled together in the boat houses).

    It consists of three smaller houses that were combined to give an elongated shape. I was particularly interested in the relatively well-preserved mosaic lararium, found in a small courtyard and protected, as you can see in my photo, by a metal grate. The lararium was a shrine to the guardian spirits of the Roman household. Family members performed daily rituals at this shrine to guarantee the protection of these domestic spirits, the most significant of which were the lares. The shrine would have held statuettes of these spirits, who were usually depicted as two young men in dancing postures, holding drinking horns.

  • Directions: The house is on Cardo III Inferiore, on the left hand side of the complex as you look from the path down into the ruins.

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    The Samnite House
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  • By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • The Samnite House, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    The Samnite House, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah
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    This house was built in the 2nd century BC but changed a lot over time, so shows a variety of styles. I was interested to read that its upper floors were rented out and therefore a separate entrance to them created – just as happens with many of the larger old houses in London and elsewhere today.

    Unfortunately the house was closed off for access when we visited. This can happen to any individual site at any time of course – maybe because of archaeological or preservation work in progress, maybe for safety reasons. But although we couldn’t go inside we got a good view from the entrance of the large Hellenistic-style atrium, with one side open to let in the light and fresh air, and in its centre the typical impluvium, a low basin in the centre of the atrium, into which rainwater flowed down from the roof. The walls are decorated in panels of colour and I read that there is a painting depicting the rape of Europa in one of the rooms, though we couldn’t get in to see it – maybe you’ll be luckier.

  • Directions: The Samnite house is right in the centre of the complex, at the intersection of Cardo IV with the cross street Decumano Inferiore.

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    The House of the Deers
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  • Updated By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • Statue, The House of the Deers, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    Statue, The House of the
    Deers, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah,
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    This is another peaceful spot, and must have been a beautiful home. It is situated in what would have been the best part of town, near the marina. It has a small atrium, with a gallery and servants' rooms on the upper floor: to the right a corridor leads to the dining room, kitchen and an alcove with a marble floor; to the left is a large complex of public rooms.

    In the large garden archaeologists found round marble tables and various statues: deer being attacked by dogs (as seen in my photo), a Satyr with a wineskin and a drunken Hercules – those seen here now are replicas, with the originals in the museum in Naples. Leading off the garden is a large sitting room with a decorative marble floor and frescoes. This in turn leads through a series of rooms to a scenic terrace overlooking the sea.

    The frescoes in this house are in lovely rich colours – see my additional photos, which were taken in the room furthest from the sea, for some of the details of these.

  • Directions: At the marina end of Cardo V

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    Entrance to the Site
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  • By Balam on November 12, 2007
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  • Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    Herculaneum
    by Balam
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    Pompeii was the most fantastic thing i had seen untill i went to herculanium. It is simply amazing (and thankfully a lot smaller than Pompeii). It is very easy to get to. Just get the Circumvesuviana train and get off at Eculano. when you come out of the station it is just a short walk (less than 10 minutes) to the bottom of the road opposite the station and the entrance is straight facing you. you can not go wrong as it is sign posted all the way.

    Entrance to Herculaneum, Pompeii is e11.00 and entrance to the museum at naples is e9.00
    For visitors from Euopean countries under 18 years of age and over 65 years entrance is free but You must have evidence of age (i.e a passport) with you, visitors between 18 and the day before their 25th birthday entrance is half price. but ONLY IF RESIDENT IN EUROPE.. Various other passes ect can be purchased at various prices (3 day passes to all 5 ancient sites (Herculaneum, Pompeii, Oplontis, Stabiae, Boscoreale) are e20.00

    Opening times
    November - March. Every day from 8.30 am to 5 pm. (last admission 3.30 pm)
    April - October. Every day from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm. (last admission 6 pm)

    Closed on January1st, May 1st and December 25th


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    Free Map and Guide
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  • By Balam on November 12, 2007
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  • Entrance to Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    Entrance to Herculaneum
    by Balam
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    You can get a free guide and map from the small information office on the left as you go in.

    your ticket lasts all day so unlike Pompeii you can go out of the site get something to eat or drink from one of the bars opposite and then go back in again.


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    The House of the Relief of Telephus
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  • Updated By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • The House of the Relief of Telephus, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    The House of the Relief
    of Telephus, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah,
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    This is the second largest house in Herculaneum and lies in a scenic position on the slope leading down to the marina – on Cardo V, the right-hand of the three main streets (as you face the ruins from the path leading down to them) .

    The house was built on three levels and held a rich collection of sculptures, including a relief depicting the myth of Telephus, son of Hercules, the legendary founder of the city. The present structure dates from the Augustan period (27 BC – 14 AD), and was re-modelled after the earthquake in 62 AD. The atrium is built in the form of a peristyle, with columns supporting not the slopes of the roof, but the rooms of the upper floor, as in certain Greek houses. Between the columns hang modern plaster casts of the marble oscilla that were found here – discs that were used to ward off evil. The porticoes surround a small courtyard garden, a peaceful spot on a sunny day.

  • Directions: On Cardo V near the centre of the town

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    Thermapolium
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  • By toonsarah on November 24, 2007
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  • Thermapolium, Herculaneum - Herculaneum
    Thermapolium, Herculaneum
    by toonsarah
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    As well as the private dwellings and large public buildings, you can see several smaller ones that help convey a good sense of everyday life here. These include a number of thermapolia or taverns. The custom was to have two meals, as we would recognise them, at home. The main meal was dinner, eaten at about 4.00 PM, which consisted of starters based on eggs and olives, then going on to meat and stuffed fish and finally a sweet and fruit. At dawn a breakfast of bread and cheese or vegetables was consumed, or simply whatever was left over from dinner. During the day people would not have lunch, as we would, but instead would rely on snacks bought from the numerous taverns. These could include flat bread, fried fish, eggs, olives, sausages and also sweetmeats and fruit.

    My photo shows a large thermapolium situated in the far left of the complex, near the Hall of the Augustals. It has the typical structure of all these eating places: a front room opening onto the road, with a brick counter decorated with marble or terracotta slabs, into which were sunk the dolia (jars) containing the goods, and behind this a back room where you could sit to eat the simple meal you’d purchased. So you can understand how this was the “fast food joint” of its day!

  • Directions: Near the Hall of the Augustals

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