Back to section: Grapes and wine in Pompeii

Garden of the House of Octavius Quartio

2010
Florence, Opera Laboratori Fiorentini

 

An upper-class residence in Pompeii, this house was refurbished several times prior to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. A garden was also added, with two canals flowing through it. On the occasion of ceremonies linked to the cult of Isis, they artificially flooded the garden to simulate the fecundating power of the Nile. Two pergolas ran along the whole length of the central canal. Rows of grapevines were planted along the sides, while a third pergola shaded the upper canal. The finding of numerous amphorae in the house confirms a large-scale wine production.