The Casa del Fauno is one of the most opulent residences in Pompeii. It is located on Via della Fortuna and covers an entire block in Region VI. Its history dates back to Samnite times, when it was a spacious but modest dwelling. However, at the end of the 2nd century BC, it expanded to occupy an entire block and received ostentatious decoration with stucco and mosaics. Surprisingly, this decoration remained virtually unchanged for the next two centuries, preserving a style that must have seemed old-fashioned to the inhabitants of Pompeii in 79 AD.

On the front of the main entrance is the inscription "HAVE," representing the Vulgar Latin form of "bird," an expression of welcome. The main entrance was equipped with a double door, and in the vestibule there are two atriums, the main one containing a small fountain with a statue of a dancing faun that gave the house its name.

It is presumed that in the first century BC, the House of the Faun was the residence of Publius Cornelius Sulla, nephew of the dictator Sulla. Publius Cornelius Sulla was in charge of organizing the Roman colony and reconciling the interests of the colonists with those of the original inhabitants. An extremely complex ancient mosaic known as the "Alexander Mosaic," depicting the battle of Issos between Alexander the Great and Darius III Codomannus, was discovered on the floor of one of the main reception rooms. This mosaic consists of between one and a half and five million tesserae.