A Day in Pompei Italy, Pompei, Italy

Pompei is an easy affordable day trip from Naples, traveling by train with the locals and capturing the vibe of the Naples folk. Tour guides are plentiful at the entrance and there are many options for self-guided or DIY tours. We chose a blend between tour guide and self-exploration over the day.

The City of Pompei was buried under ash in the year AD79 when Mt Vesuvius erupted killing over 1000 people. On August 24 of that year, Vesuvius awoke from one of its longest slumbers, catching the local population by surprise. The eruption was apocalyptic, all life at the foot of the volcano was wiped out and even the memory of the lost cities soon faded.

We arrived in Pompei on 24th August, 2013 and mid afternoon we experienced the fury of a storm where we had to run for shelter in a nearby villa. It was very eerie as strong winds and torrential rain bucketed down, creating rivers along the main streets. If this was the fury from a storm one can imagine the fury of a volcanic eruption. We took shelter in the same locations as they would have done all those years ago.

It is the only archaeological site still mostly intact today that we can envision what life was like in a roman city during this era. The resultant burial of ash over the 44 hectares enabled most of the buildings to be preserved. Pompei had a population of 12,000 citizens and 12 tribes at one stage. They were well known for the construction of buildings, creating the first coins, the alphabet and democracy. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).