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house of the faun
The House of the Faun represents a house that would have been owned by an aristocratic Roman. The house and its grounds cover about 3000 square metres. The house had shops at the front and had two 'atria'. The Tuscan atrium to the left was a public area of the house whereas on the right, the tetrastyle atrium which had a roof supported by four columns was a private part of the building. Running off from this private part of the house there were a set of baths, stables and the kitchen. The house also had two gardens, one of average size and the other occupying half the total area of the house. The house is famous for a bronze statuette of a dancing faun in the impluvium of the tuscan atrium and also for a mosaic depicting Alexander the Great. The owners of the House of the Faun were so reluctant to leave all of their belongings when Mount Vesuvius erupted that they were killed in the 'tablinum' or study of their house.