Archaeologists have reconstructed more than a quarter of a vaulted ceiling fresco depicting the sacred marriage of Dionysus and Ariadne in the House with Bakery in Pompeii's Regio IX, a restoration presented Thursday at the site's Palestra Grande following an international workshop on ongoing excavations.
The recovered fragments belonged to a banquet hall on the upper floor of the residence. The fresco shows Dionysus reclining on a chariot drawn by musician centaurs while Arianna plays the harp. Conservators mounted the pieces on a new modular support designed to replicate the vault's original curvature, allowing future fragments to be integrated as they are found.
The Dionysian theme anchors the Archaeological Park of Pompeii's programming for 2026, following the 2024–2025 discovery of a Dionysus procession megalography in the nearby House of the Thiasos. The park's second Esopop festival, titled Ecstatic Pompeii, will run from August 28 to September 26.