The House of Pansa, also known as the Insula Arriana Polliana, occupies much of an entire city block and is one of the most representative examples of Pompeii’s great aristocratic residences.
The house acquired its monumental form around the middle of the 2nd century BC. Its principal rooms are arranged along an axis leading from the entrance, through the atrium and into the large rear peristyle.
At the centre of the peristyle, which was surrounded by sixteen tuff columns, stood a large basin originally decorated with a depiction of fish. The entrance also preserves architectural elements belonging to the building’s earliest phases.
A painted inscription nearby recorded the letting of several properties belonging to the extensive estate. It mentioned Cnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius, a wealthy member of Pompeian society and a city magistrate.
