The domus is considered to be a “jewel” of the ancient city that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
It was discovered in 1933 with its second floor almost entirely preserved.
The building was closed for repair following the Irpinia earthquake in 1980, which killed almost 3000 people.
Believed to have been a brothel, it’s decorated with images representing life and landscapes, dating to after 62 BC.
The domus owes its name to a Latin inscription beside the entrance: “Amantes, ut apes, vita(m) mellita(m) exigunt. Velle” (Lovers like bees pass a sweet life like honey. I wish it were so).
Under the EU-funded Great Pompeii Project, the House of Lovers has been restored along with two other buildings at Pompeii: the Casa della Nave Europa and the Casa del Frutteto.
The project was initiated after UNESCO warned in 2013 it could strip the site of its World Heritage status after a series of collapses blamed on lax maintenance and bad weather.
Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said the restoration is “a story of rebirth and redemption, a model for all of Europe in the management of EU funds”.
