Villa Arianna Castellammare di Stabia near Pompeii, Italy

The Villa Arianna is one of the major seaside Roman villas at Castellamare di Stabiae, well-known for its paintings and destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. Still only partly-excavated it is being restored and not all of the remains are accessible. Apart from specialized tour groups, almost no-one goes there but it is hugely impressive compared to most of what there is at Pompeii. Reaching it is insanely difficult if you have no idea how to get there. Take the Circumvesuviana train to Via Nocera Station. Turn left out of the station and head west, taking the left fork after a couple of hundred yards. Follow this road round as it curves to the south and goes uphill. You'll soon see a very minor road called Strada Varano that double back and curves on up to the north. Take this to the end, where it meets Passeggiata Archaeologica, a busy road, and right next to the junction on the left a driveway leads down to the Villa Arianna. It's on Google Earth at 40°41'59.63"N 14°29'33.526"E. The Villa San Marco is further along the Passeggiata Archaeologica.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Roman
• Villa
• Paintings
• Vesuvius
• AD79
• Pompeii
• Arianna
• Castellammare