L’APPORTO DELLE DECORAZIONI FRAMMENTARIE DEL CASEGGIATO DELLE TABERNE FINESTRATE PER LA CONOSCENZA DELLA PITTURA CD. “POMPEIANA” AD OSTIA1

Abstract

This paper constitutes a synthetic but complete presentation of the fragmentary decorations of the Caseggiato
delle Taberne Finestrate, a commercial building in Ostia whose excavations in the 1970s revealed a substantial
quantity of plaster fragments. The paintings have been dated to between the end of the first century
BC and the end of the first century AD, and they provide a better understanding of the First, Second and
Fourth Styles, often erroneously called “Pompeiian”. In fact, the Ostian painting of this period is much less
well-known, due to the lack of well-preserved structures dating to before the great reorganization of the city
in the second century. The material furnished by the Taberne Finestrate provides an important contribution
to the knowledge of Ostian decorations and show the potential that studies on fragmentary wall paintings
hold.