NAPLES, ITALY—ArtNet News reports that excavators working in the ancient Roman town of Oplontis, three miles west of Pompeii, have uncovered several frescoes in the Villa Poppaea. The luxurious residence, which was built in the mid-first century B.C. overlooking the sea, was buried in ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Inscriptions found on amphoras unearthed at the site suggest that the villa may have belonged to Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of the emperor Nero. The frescoes were found in a room dubbed the “Hall of the Peacock,” after the mirror images of peacocks painted on one wall. Fragments of an image of a comedic mask of Pappus, a character in a theatrical comedy called the Atellan Farce, were also identified. The character of Pappus was an old man who foolishly attempted to appear young and became vulnerable to being deceived. For more, go to "Off the Grid: Oplontis, Italy."
