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After a major and lengthy restoration, the House of Lucceia Primitiva and the decorative elements of the “Garden Houses” at Ostia have been reopened to the public as part of European Heritage Days. These sorts of houses, or insulae – four in all - , are extremely important evidence of building in the Hadrian age. They were situated in a residential district of the ancient city, inhabited by merchants and entrepreneurs who invested in property and could afford to adorn the walls and ceilings of their homes with delightful frescos. Today, these works of art are still considered to be among the most important examples of Roman painting, after the destruction of Pompeii.

The four insulae, known as the House of Lucceia Primitiva or House of the Priestesses, House of the Muses, House of the Painted Ceilings and House of the Yellow Walls, had been badly damaged over the centuries and were in a state of such extreme deterioration at the time of their discovery, (which took place at different times), that they have not been open to the general public for more than fifty years. Through a global salvaging and enhancement project, which has been developed over the last ten years and is still underway, the Office for the Archaeological Heritage of Ostia has finally made it possible for regulated tours to take place to view this evocative, and mostly unknown, historical site.

Of the four houses, the House of Lucceia was the object of a renovation that began in the 1960s, carried out in particular by Maria Luisa Veloccia Rinaldi, as far as the frescoes were concerned, and subsequently led by a group from La Sapienza University in Rome. Known as the insula delle Ierodule [House of the Priestesses] due to the presence in the decoration of figures of priestesses or sacred slaves, the ierodule, the House later took the name of its supposed owner, Lucceia Primitiva, the name found graffitoed on a wall. Divided over two, if not three floors, the building had been deliberately demolished as a consequence of reclamation activity. In order to proceed with the restoration, therefore, it was necessary to provide it with a very light, transparent polycarbonate cover. Thanks to the excavations that were carried out, one of the ceilings has been salvaged almost in its entirety. The frescoes presented various problems due to the new rise in humidity, an issue that affects the whole site at Ostia, and because the paintings were completely covered over with a layer of limestone. Visitors can now see the elegant friezes, which form a decorative whole inspired by the Dionysian world.

The rooms in the House of Lucceia are arranged around a long, narrow access room, a sort of atrium-corridor, adorned with large well-lit windows overlooking the garden. The latter is actually more of a courtyard with unpaved areas, which provided the four houses with light and water. Three fountains at the sides ensured the water supply. The houses were separately owned and had independent entrances, as further evidence of the extreme modernity that characterises the intensive building phase following the construction of the Port of Trajan.

The House of the Painted Ceilings, on the other hand, can be dated to approximately 120 B.C. and is of interest in terms both of its architectural structure and its decorations, which were added at various times. The highlight, however, is its splendid ceiling decoration, in which shades of red and yellow, or white for the private rooms, stand out, and which has given this house its name. The ceiling with the ethereal image of Pegasus and Bellerophon is particularly fine. In one of the private rooms, visitors can admire the only example of erotic painting in Ostia. The House of the Yellow Walls is also a luxury residence of the Hadrian Age. Laid out on two floors, and dominated by yellow decoration, it must have belonged to an illustrious figure, as suggested by the iconography of mythological inspiration, such as the struggle between the river god Achelous and Hercules, who is on the point of snatching from his rival the horn from which blood will flow, in order to gain possession of Dejanira.

Finally, the House of the Muses stands out for the refinement of its decoration, as can be admired in the fresco from which the house takes its name, in which Apollo Musagete is depicted surrounded by the Muses, wearing feathers on their heads to indicate their victory over the Sirens.