10, Flyover Zone

Explore one of the most iconic houses in Pompeii: the House of the Tragic Poet.

Located on the Bay of Naples about 140 miles south of Rome, Pompeii is one of the most celebrated archaeological sites in the world. It is important because it gives us an unparalleled snapshot of what life was like in a medium-size, prosperous Roman town in the first century CE. Flyover Zone takes you on a virtual tour of one of the most iconic houses in Pompeii, the House of the Tragic Poet. It is considered one of the best examples of a private house in the city, since it has a typical layout and uncommonly lavish decorations on the walls and floors. However, the house has been in ruins since its discovery in the 1820s, so this virtual tour, based on a rigorously researched virtual model, is the only to experience it as it appeared before it was destroyed, like the rest of the city, in the eruption of the volcano on nearby Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. This virtual tour takes you through all the major spaces in the house to admire their decorations and to learn their functions, and it also explores topics related to domestic life in Roman Italy, such as food, dining, social classes and relations, and the history of the house and Pompeii generally.

Audio: English
Subtitles: English

Project Manager:
Bernard Frischer

Producer:
Alberto Prieto

Tour Guide/Narration:
Bernard Frischer

Script:
Alberto Prieto and Bernard Frischer

3D Modeling:
Lasha Tshkondia

Art Direction:
Mohamed Abdelaziz

Image Credits:
The aerial panoramic photographs of Pompeii are by James Patterson, Florian Knorn, and Marko Randjic via 360cities.net.
The high-resolution scans of the color illustrations in Rochette and Bouchet are courtesy of the Getty Research Institute and the Arthur and Janet C. Ross Library of the American Academy in Rome.
The photographs of the panel paintings depicting Achilles and Briseis, Alcestis and Admetus, Helen boarding Paris’ Ship, the Judgment of Paris, Jupiter and Juno, and Theseus abandoning Ariadne on Naxos are licensed from Alamy Stock Photo.
The photographs of the panel paintings depicting Neptune and Amymone and Agamemnon sacrificing Iphigeneia are courtesy of Jackie and Bob Dunn (Pompeii in Pictures).
The head of the faun in the peristyle is a model of the “Faun of Vienne” in the Louvre, Paris by Zoilo via Sketchfab (CC BY 4.0).

Created By:
Flyover Zone

This virtual tour is dedicated to the memory of L. Richardson, Jr.

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  • Joanne Berry, The Complete Pompeii. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007.
  • Bonucci, Carlo, Pompei descritta. Naples: Da’ Torchi di Raffaele Miranda, 1826, 107-117.
  • Keith Bradley, “The Sentimental Education of the Roman Child: The Role of Pet-Keeping.” Latomus 57 (1998): 523-557.
  • William Clarke, Pompeii. London: Charles Knight, Pall-Mall East, 1832, 150-177.
  • Ernesto De Carolis, Francesco Esposito and Diego Ferrara, “Per una storia del restauro musivo,” Rivista di Studi Pompeiani 30 (2019): 135-150.
  • John F. Donahue, “Roman Dining,” in John Wilkins and Robin Nadeau (eds.), A Companion to Food in the Ancient World. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2015, 253-264.
  • http://mikoflohr.org/pompeii/ (accessed August 19, 2024)
  • William Gell, Pompeiana: The Topography, Edifices and Ornaments of Pompeii, volume 1. London: Jennings and Chaplin, 1832, 142-178.
  • Harriet I. Flower, The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden: Religion at the Roman Street Corner. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2017.
  • Fabio Galeandro, “Pompei Scavi. Casa del Poeta Tragico (VI 8, 5),” Rivista di Studi Pompeiani XXVI-XXVII / 2015-2016 (2016):  127-128.
  • Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy. Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015.
  • Eugenio La Rocca and Mariette and Arnold deVos, Pompei. Milan: Arnaldo Mondadori Editore, 1994.
  • Hugh Lindsay, “Who was Apicius?” Symbolae Osloenses 72 (1997): 144-154.
  • Roger Ling, Roman Painting. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
  • Giulio Minervini, “Descrizione della Casa del Poeta Tragico di Pompei.” Bullettino Archeologico Napoletano, nuova serie 6 (1858): 132-136, 153-158, 169-172.
  • Felice Niccolini, “Casa detta del Poeta Tragico.” Le case e i monumenti di Pompei disegnati e descritti fasc. 14-15 (1858): 1-10 and pls. 1-6.
  • Fabrizio Pesando and Maria Paola Guidobaldi, Pompei Oplontis Ercolano Stabiae. Rome-Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 2006.
  • Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow, The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015.
  • L. Richardson, jr., Pompeii. An Architectural History. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.
  • L. Richardson, jr., A Catalog of Identifiable Figure Painters of Ancient Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
  • Raoul Rochette and Jules Bouchet, Pompéi, choix de monuments inedits. 1e partie. Maison du Poète Tragique à Pompéi, publiée avec ses peintures et ses mosaïques, fidèlement reproduites et avec un texte explicatif. Paris, 1828.
  • Jocelyn M. C. Toynbee, “Beasts and Their Names in the Roman Empire.” Papers of the British School at Rome 16 (1948): 24-37.
  • Nicholas Wood, The House of the Tragic Poet: A Reconstruction / Casa del Poeta Tragico. Una ricostruzione. London: South Hill Press, 1996.
  • Paul Zanker (trans. D. Lucas Schneider), Pompeii: Public and Private Life. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998.

Highlights

  • Guided Tour

    Explore 20 stops along a tour of the Pantheon

  • Time Warp

    Travel to 320 AD and see the Pantheon restored

  • Expert Commentary

    Listen to expert commentary on each stop

Preview in 3D

Untitled Design 86, Flyover Zone

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