Pompeii reopening
Pompeii reopens on the 26th May with a two-weeks phase will begin, which will allow one to walk along the streets of the ancient city, in the course of which it will be possible to admire the most representative areas of the site, and enjoy their unique atmosphere, following a pre-determined route, within defined time slots, and with the necessary distancing measures outlined by the Ministry of Health. Already in this first phase, it will be possible to access certain houses with large spaces, and even gain a preview of something new, such as the recently restored House of Cornelius Rufus with its beautiful peristyle (colonnaded garden), which incorporates a flourishing garden. A second phase will follow on the 9th June, which will include routes accessible from other entrances, and will include visits to many more domus, specifically those that have separate entrances and exits, with the support of technology to monitor visitor flow.
During the first phase, entrance tickets will have a discounted price of €5 and will be available exclusively online at the website www.ticketone.it (free and reduced price tickets will also be available, as per regulations). The opening hours will be as follows: 9:00-19:00 (with the last entrance at 17:30), and the site will be closed on Mondays. Bookings will be possible for the same day, subject to availability.
At the time of purchasing tickets online, the visitor will be able to select an entry time slot - these are scheduled every 15 minutes with a maximum of 40 people per slot. Tickets must be shown at the entrance, either on a smartphone or tablet (QR Code), or as a paper copy previously printed at home.
The Pompei365 pass validity will be extended by the number of days corresponding to the duration of the site’s closure as a result of the health emergency. The free ticket for a single access must be requested on the website www.ticketone.it
Upon arrival, visitors will be subjected to temperature checks by means of a thermal scanner, and will be required to wear a mask throughout their visit to the site, as well as maintain a physical distance from other visitors of 1m outdoors and 1.5m indoors, both on the site and outside.
All information relating to the safety measures for containing the COVID-19 contagion, and to the visiting arrangements, will be provided to visitors via monitors present at the entrances, and signs.
Visits will proceed in full compliance with the distancing measures detailed by the Scientific Technical Committee, and follow the directions indicated by signs which have been specially installed in the Park. Hand sanitiser gel dispensers will be present at the entrance and at the toilets.
The only site entrance in operation will be that at Piazza Anfiteatro, while the visitor may exit from Piazza Esedra or the Porta Marina, via the Temple of Venus. The visit will take place following a unidirectional route, which will be signposted within the site. It will be possible to walk inside the Amphitheatre, in the garden of the Large Palaestra and in the Praedia of Julia Felix, but also through the Necropolis of Porta Nocera and the Garden of the Fugitives, and reach the theatre quarter and the Triangular Forum. Additionally, from Via dell’Abbondanza it will be possible to reach the Forum with all of its public and religious buildings, and visit the external areas of the Stabian Baths, or take Via Stabiana as far as Via del Vesuvio, where one may admire the House of Leda and the Swan, the House of the Golden Cupids and the Central Baths.
Visitors with mobility difficulties, entering from the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance, will be able to follow the facilitated “Pompeii for All” route. During the current phase the return route, respecting both the distancing measures and right of way, will be towards Piazza Anfiteatro, which will be the sole exit during this phase.
“Pompeii reopens at last. We are happy about this recovery, which will allow us to immerse ourselves once more in the beauty of these places,” - declares Director General Massimo Osanna -, “but also to restart tourism and breathe life back into sectors which depend on culture and tourism. Thanks to the work of many restorers, workers and technicians at the Park, maintenance work has not stopped during this period, in order to guarantee the protection and safeguarding of the site and to be ready for the reopening. We will reopen in full compliance with regulations, but also with new developments which will enrich the routes, transforming the limitations of a visit with a predefined and monitored route into an opportunity to better understand the site. It will be a Pompeii to be enjoyed without rushing, and with greater tranquility. Furthermore, it will be possible even in the first phase to cross the entire city, from the Amphitheatre to the Forum, and also follow a route through the greenery of Pompeian gardens. From the Praedia of Julia Felix, to the House of the Golden Cupids, the House of Cornelius Rufus - which will be reopened after a long time of closure - and the gardens of the Large Palaestra as well as the Necropolis of Porta Nocera, or the vineyard of the Garden of the Fugitives. The first phase will be an opportunity, particularly for local citizens, to return to a unique place - and Pompeii is indeed that - which has been transformed into a kind of urban park. In the second phase we hope to be able to welcome visitors from other parts of Italy, and to resume numerous planned initiatives, from exhibitions to the reopening of other restored domus, but also to swiftly continue with the various ongoing works and begin new excavation projects. Pompeii represents not just the identity of a region, but that of the entirety of Europe. It has meant so much to European culture since the 18th century that it must be accessible once again to all citizens”.
House of the Cornelii
The elegant House of the Cornelii faced onto one of the most famous bath complexes of the city - the Stabian Baths. At the end of the nineteenth century, this residence was an obligatory stop on every visit to the city, on account of the fact that the atrium was enriched by a fine array of sculpture (currently in the Forum Granaries), and the rear of the dwelling housed a peristyle punctuated by elegant Doric columns, which framed a beautiful garden that featured a fountain. In the atrium of the house the bust-portrait of its owner, Caius Cornelius Rufus, was also found, and is currently preserved in the Antiquarium of Pompeii.
