What the Restoration of Pompeii's Grandest House Means for Visitors

Part of the house of Marcus Fabius Rufus, believed to be the grandest residence in the Pompeii archaeological site, is expected to open to guided groups by Christmas, officials said Tuesday. The home has been closed to the public since 1980.

The restoration is being paid for entirely by a private sponsor, who is covering the full cost of 1.4 million euros ($1.6 million), according to ABC News. The Independent put the figure at £1.1 million.

What visitors can expect

Officials of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii said that only part of the property is expected to open at first, and only to guided groups. They did not say how visitors would book those tours or what they would cost.

The house was modeled on Rome's imperial palaces and built on Pompeii's city walls. It has four floors linked by a maze of corridors and staircases. It was buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., which destroyed the ancient city.

Park superintendent Gabriel Zuchtriegel said the layout is hard to follow. He described the house as an “incredible labyrinth” and said digital technology is being developed to help visitors understand it. He added that work is also under way to make the complex more accessible. He compared the experience to being in a 19th-century palace in Naples, even though the building is a Roman house about 2,000 years old.

What is being restored

Structural work on the house was carried out from 2021 to 2023. The current phase focuses on the frescoes, including the famous Venus of Pompeii, which is in a chapel inside the residence. The owner is believed to have been either a magistrate or a freedman of the imperial household, according to the reports.

Who is paying and why

The sponsor is German entrepreneur Frank Hoefer. He contacted the park after reading Zuchtriegel's 2023 book, “Pompeii: The Enchanted City.” In a release, Hoefer said he found the project exciting. He also said he had the impression that Pompeii is open to “innovative approaches to preservation and public access.”

Why it matters: private money and public access

For travelers, the immediate effect is a chance to see a part of Pompeii that has been off-limits for more than four decades, though initially only on guided visits and only in part of the house.

Zuchtriegel said the goal is to expand this kind of sponsorship. He also spoke about the site's entrance ticket in a video statement. He said that having 50 sponsors like this one would not mean the ticket could be abolished and replaced with a symbolic price of one euro. But he described that as a direction the park should work toward as it develops the site. No plan to change ticket prices was announced.

What happens next

The frescoes are still being restored, and the accessibility work and digital tools are still in development. Officials have set Christmas as the expected date for the first guided visits to part of the house. They did not give a timeline for opening the rest of it.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ABC News, The Independent