The villa makes a good complement to visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum. The villa is included in the UNESCO heritage listing 'Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Torre Annunziata'. The site is under-visited compared to its famous neighbours, and it is a fascinating and atmospheric place to get the feel of real Roman luxury. But what there is to see is very impressive.

Lying under the modern Naples suburb Torre Annunziata, the full extent of the villa complex hasn't been discovered. Consequently the villa is sometimes called Villa Poppaea, and is also known as Villa A by archaeologists studying the ruins around the site of the Roman seaside village of Oplontis (and as Scavi di Oplonti in Italian).

A wine amphora found here bore the inscription of the name 'Poppaeae'. Her family are believed to have come from this area, and the grandeur of the villa suggests it belonged to someone either very rich or very well-connected. Buried until its gradual discovery over the last four centuries, this huge and lavish palace has been associated on slender evidence with Poppaea Sabina, the unfortunate wife said to have been kicked to death by the Emperor Nero.

Like Pompeii and Herculaneum, Villa Oplontis was both destroyed and preserved by the eruption of Veusuvius in AD79. Villa Oplontis (Villa Poppaea) Well-preserved Roman villa near Naples which is fascinating to visit Campania region Amalfi Coast Amalfi Capri Furore Herculaneum Ischia Marina del Cantone Naples Paestum Palinuro Pompeii Positano Praiano Procida Ravello Sorrento Villa Oplontis

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