Casa dei Vettii in Pompeii reopens after 20 years – in pictures

The Casa dei Vettii, which has reopened to the public after 20 years at the archaeological site of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii

A view of a fresco depicting Hercules as a child choking snakes that adorns the ‘triclinium’, or dining room, called Hall of Pentheus

The House of Vettii, Domus Vettiorum in Latin, was buried under the volcanic ash furiously spewing from Mount Vesuvius in AD79

A detail of the frescoes that adorn the walls of the ‘Room of the Cupids’

The unveiling of the restored home follows years of neglect, flooding and pillaging by thieves in search of artefacts to sell

The home is believed to have been constructed in the second century BC. It is believed the house’s original owners, Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, became rich by selling wine after being freed from slavery. Theories in the past have suggested that the two men were brothers, but it is more likely that they met when enslaved and had the same master, whose name was Aulus Vettius

Culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano attends the reopening on Tuesday

A street in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. The restoration project has involved a wide range of professionals, including archaeologists, architects, restorers, engineers, structural engineers and gardening experts

The house represents one of the finest examples of Roman art, and is named after its owners, Aulus Vettius Restituto and Aulus Vettius Conviva

The Peristyle of the house. Pompeii’s architect director of restoration work, Arianna Spinosa, called the restored home ‘one of the iconic houses of Pompeii’. The residence ‘represents the Pompeiian domus par excellence, not only because of the frescoes of exceptional importance, but also because of its layout and architecture’

‘The House of the Vetti is like the history of Pompeii and actually of Roman society within one house,’ says Pompeii’s director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel

A Pompeian ornament decorating a room of the house

A detail of one of the frescoes that adorn a ‘triclinium’, one of the dining rooms

Erotic frescos feature in the house, which is believed to have incorporated a small brothel

‘We’re seeing here the last phase of the Pompeian wall painting with incredible details, so you can stand before these images for hours and still discover new details,’ says Pompeii’s director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel

A view of the Pompeii Archeological Park near Naples in southern Italy