Cite this garden Jashemski, W. (2021). "II.vii The Great Palaestra." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed June 18, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/49e4c2d1b1/

II.vii The Great Palaestra

Contributor: Jessica Venner
Published: 2021-04-21
Last modified: 2026-06-13

Dates

Excavated 1814 to 1816, 1933, and 1935 to 1939.

Province

Location

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Insula

Insula VII

Garden Description

Colonnaded porticoes encircled the palaestra on the south, west and north. A large swimming pool (34.55 m x 22.25 m) was located in the center. Casts made of tree cavities planted eight meters apart in two rows around the north, west and south sides of the enclosed area indicated that these were plane trees, just under one hundred years old.

Keywords

Places

Bibliography

  • Jashemski, W. 1979. Gardens of Pompeii, vol.I, pp.160-161 and fig. 246 on p.161 (worldcat)
  • Jashemski, W. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii, vol.II, p.92 (worldcat)
  • Maiuri, A. 1939. Notizie degli scavi di antichità€, pp.193-195 and pl.9 (plan shows only a part of the root cavities found).(worldcat)