Pompeii mansion to be restored after £1.1m donation from private sponsor
Por Summer Woolley — – World RSS Feed
Pompeii mansion to be restored after £1.1m donation from private sponsor
German entrepreneur Frank Hoefer was inspired after reading the 2023 book, Pompeii: The Enchanted City
Summer Woolley Wednesday 21 October 2026 07:04 BST
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Work has begun to restore what is believed to be the grandest ancient residence in the Pompeii archaeological site, fully funded by a private sponsor at a cost of 1.4 million euros (£1.1 million), officials announced on Tuesday.
The house of Marcus Fabius Rufus, built on Pompeii’s city walls and modelled after Rome’s imperial palaces, was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed the ancient city in 79 A.D. It has been inaccessible to the public since 1980.
The residence features four floors connected by a network of corridors and staircases.
The Archaeological Park of Pompeii said that part of the property is expected to open to guided groups by Christmas.
The renovation is being paid for by German entrepreneur Frank Hoefer, who contacted the park after reading superintendent Gabriel Zuchtriegel’s 2023 book, Pompeii: The Enchanted City.
open image in gallery“Restoring the spectacular residence of Marcus Fabius Rufus … is a project I find exciting,” Hoefer said.
“I also have the impression that Pompeii is very open to innovative approaches to preservation and public access.”
open image in galleryZuchtriegel said the goal is to expand such sponsorships.
“This does not mean that from tomorrow on if we had 50 such sponsors we would be able to abolish the entrance ticket, putting it at just a symbolic one-euro price, but it is a perspective towards which we have to work to develop the site,” Zuchtriegel said in a video statement.
open image in galleryStructural work was carried out on the house from 2021 to 2023, and current renovations are focused on the frescoes, including the famous Venus of Pompeii located in a chapel within the residence. The owner was believed to be a magistrate or a freedman of the imperial household.
Zuchtriegel said work was also being done to make the complex more accessible, and digital technology was being developed to help people grasp the “incredible labyrinth” that makes up the house.
“At times, you feel like you are in a 19th-century palace in Naples, yet this is a Roman house from 2,000 years ago,” Zuchtriegel said.
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