Room o

A. Karivieri & R. Forsell

The main room behind the north portico of the peristyle garden is the large tricliniumo, located in the centre of the north flank of the portico, with a large opening towards the garden. In front of it, a garden fountain is still preserved in situ on top of the pluteus. Tricliniumo is flanked on both sides by smaller rooms, rooms n and p.

This state of the room was created as part of the large reconstruction when the two houses (North and South Houses) merged in the early imperial (presumably Claudian) period. Its creation belongs to a previous period when it served as oecus or triclinium of the North House only.
In its state, previous to the merging, the room must have been entered from courtyard l of V 1,23 close to the partition wall to the southern neighbor, using the doorway still visible inside room n. It is possible that the opposing doorway (visible in room p) was used as a communication with the kitchen area in the back of the North House. In the west wall of the room a large window opened towards the courtyard. A truncated wall visible in the face of the north wall witnesses a still earlier, different layout.

Tricliniumo was lavishly decorated in the Fourth Style. The colour scheme includes a red dado and a yellow middle zone. The upper zone is poorly preserved. The main panels of the middle zone had mythological scenes. Only one of these, showing the judgment of Paris, is still in situ. The side panels have female portraits inscribed inside medallions. For more details compare the (forthcoming) descriptions of the walls.

The floor is covered with a white mosaic with a central opus sectile panel. Framing bands are in black and white.