Italy is to reopen three Pompeii houses to the public after restoration.

The House of Lovers, one of the most famous buildings in Pompeii, is to reopen after 40 years, according to an announcement by Italy's culture minister Dario Franceschini.

The domus, which came to light in 1933 and suffered extensive damage in the Irpinia earthquake of 1980, has undergone an extensive programme of restoration works.

Described as a "unique jewel" of the ancient Roman city, which was buried by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, the House of Lovers is the only domus whose second floor was preserved almost in its entirety.

The first-century BC building, believed to have been a brothel, is decorated with images representing life, landscapes and fish, dating to after 62 BC.

The domus owes its name to a Latin inscription beside the entrance: 'Amantes, ut apes, vita(m) mellita(m) exigunt. Velle.' which translates as "Lovers like bees pass a sweet life like honey. I wish it were so."

The House of Lovers has been restored along with two other Pompeii buildings - the Casa della Nave Europa and the Casa del Frutteto - thanks to the EU-funded Great Pompeii Project.

Franceschini hailed the restoration as "a story of rebirth and redemption, a model for all of Europe in the management of EU funds."

The news comes after Pompeii reopened the restored Casa del Frutteto, or House of the Orchard, on 1 February.