<P> The Villa of the Mysteries ( Italian : Villa dei Misteri ) is a well - preserved suburban Roman villa on the outskirts of Pompeii , southern Italy , famous for the series of frescos in one room , which are usually thought to show the initiation of a young woman into a Greco - Roman mystery cult . These are now probably the best known of the relatively rare survivals of Ancient Roman painting . Like the rest of the Roman city of Pompeii , the villa was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 and excavated from 1909 onwards ( long after much of the main city ) . It is now a popular part of tourist visits to Pompeii , and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Pompeii . </P>
what is unique about villa of the mysteries frescoes
famous for the series of frescos in one room