The House of M. Caesius Blandus is one of the most significant residences in Pompeii’s Regio VII. Standing at the north-eastern end of Insula 1, it is arranged around a Tuscan atrium and a peristyle and preserves evidence of several phases in its long building history. The house was excavated principally in 1848 and 1862.
The original nucleus dates to the late Samnite period. Around the 40s BC, the residence underwent major renovation: the spaces were extended towards the peristyle and the rooms were renewed with wall paintings and floors of considerable quality. During this phase, the house assumed the appearance of an upper-middle-status residence of the late Republican period.
Of particular interest is the presence of a small private bath suite, comprising a tepidarium and caldarium, a feature that attests to the status attained by the residence. The caldarium retains an elaborate mosaic decoration, while numerous other rooms have geometric tessellated floors.
The entrance leads into the atrium, distinguished by an impluvium lined with large tuff slabs. The tablinum lies on the same axis, beyond which extend the peristyle and the rooms used for private life and reception. One of the entrance floors is decorated with figurative motifs including towers, walls and dolphins, a particularly distinctive feature of the house.
