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The House of the Nymphaeum, in Regio VIII of Pompeii, was built along the city’s southern edge, where the ground falls steeply. The house faced Via della Regina and extended across lower levels, taking advantage of the natural slope of the Pompeian plateau.
It takes its name from its distinctive nymphaeum, created during a phase of remodelling in the Claudian-Neronian period. Designed to imitate an artificial grotto, the structure was decorated with mosaic revetment, niches and water features. In front of it was a narrow basin fed by water from a small stepped cascade.
The nymphaeum formed part of a broader renovation that also affected the atrium, upper floor and underground rooms. New Fourth-Style decoration and opus sectile floors were added at this stage, attesting to the owners’ wealth.
The southern part of the house included rooms opening onto a panoramic terrace. The tablinum was open towards both the atrium and the south, while an exedra and other rooms faced directly onto the terrace, probably commanding broad views of the surrounding landscape.
Several paintings were found in the house during the Bourbon excavations of the 18th century. They include a harbour scene with a sailing ship, architectural landscapes and images of pygmies, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The house was explored in several phases: some rooms were identified as early as 1758, followed by further campaigns in 1886 and 1928.