Lello, our knowledgeable guide and sometime history teacher, takes us to an impressive two-story structure as part of the morning tour of ancient Pompeii in Southern Italy. His round, wire-rimmed glasses accentuate his round face as he animates fascinating details of Pompeiian life. Hot ash encased the city and its inhabitants, preserving an extraordinary amount of stone structure, artwork, wall murals, pottery, and other material traces of daily life.
Standing in the narrow hallway of Lupanar Grande, I stare at a menu, a row of tilesβmany faded, some in good conditionβyet all once artfully descriptive of various sexual acts available for purchase.
Five tiny, windowless rooms off the hallway each contain a stone bed and pillow occupying much of the space. Five more rooms occupy the second floor, making this brothel the largest of 25 discovered to date in this once-wealthy, cosmopolitan city. Many believe fire from high heat killed the inhabitants. But a combination of fast-moving ash and deadly gas clouds, called pyroclastic surges, released from the superheated lava speeding down the mountain; the suspended clouds asphyxiated 2, Pompeiians a hellish 15 minutes later.
However, the ash did preserve large wall murals of carnal activities on the brothel walls as well as these explicit wall tiles. The Lupanar brothel, a lively place of noise, drink, and an undercurrent of music and satisfaction. Lupanar is the top brothel in ancient Pompeii. Fulvia reigns as customers arrive.
Bene vesperi, domine. Good evening, sir. Did your ship arrive in port today? A Gaulish trader, drinking a large quantity of honeyed wine, staggers toward Fulvia, speaking his native tongue. He makes a crude gesture with his hips. I observe a lovely, slender African woman descend steps from the upper quarters and walk to Fulvia. This guy is drunk as a skunk, and he stinks, too. But his clothing also reeks of deep pockets.
