This large fresco of “Venus on a Seashell” and Cupid riding a dolphin are on a garden wall within a peristyle at Casa di Venus. The painting, sometimes called Venus Anadyomene, was excavated in 1960. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, fertility, seduction and sex. Many of the discovered frescos, mosaics and statues were considered so erotic they were locked away for over a hundred years before going on exhibit in 2000. A large collection of artifacts from Pompeii and surrounding Vesuvian towns are on display in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.
