The Inn of the Gladiators was a complex on the Via di Nocera, not far from the Amphitheatre. It acquired its final form through the amalgamation and alteration of several earlier dwellings, particularly after the earthquake of AD 62.
The entrance led into a vineyard with a roofed wine cellar and an area for treading grapes. A large summer triclinium sheltered by a pergola allowed meals to be eaten outdoors among the vegetation.
Elsewhere in the complex was a kiln for producing small vessels and lamps. Archaeological research has revealed a close relationship between the inn and the adjoining pottery workshop, suggesting that the two activities may have been linked both economically and functionally.
The modern name derives from a small tuff statue depicting a gladiator, now kept in the Antiquarium. The find has been associated with customers visiting the establishment when spectacles were held in the nearby Amphitheatre. The vineyard was replanted in 2005 according to the layout reconstructed through archaeological investigation.
View this location on the Pompeii Buildings and Places map