A Trip Beneath a Volcano, to Campania and Pompeii

Life before the eruption of Vesuvius

The highly developed cities where the volcano ravaged were inhabited by peoples who, over centuries, shaped the area beneath the volcano, creating the ancient cities we know from the archaeological sites near Naples. The largest city of Pompeii was colonised in 89 BC when the city was seized by Roman General Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix during the Italian War of the Battle of Pompeii with General Lucius Cluentius and named Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. Pompeii became a Roman colony, which, together with its inhabitants, adopts Roman culture and language. During Roman rule, Pompeii and its surroundings were home to a few luxurious houses with small areas for farming and agriculture, where plants and animals were raised. In addition to luxurious houses, the urban city included shrines, outdoor fountains, baths, thermopolis, an amphitheatre, barracks for gladiators and other rooms for a specific purpose. The settled life of Roman culture in Pompeii progressed to a crucial moment when in 79 BC the city and its surroundings were struck by a natural disaster with an unexpected eruption of a volcano.

Pompeii with nearby towns by the volcano

Pompeii is a 19th-century city built on the excavations of the former ancient city of the same name. The modern city was founded by the Italian lawyer Bartolo Longo after the consecration of the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei. Since the foundation of the city, the population has grown by as much as four times to about 24,000 inhabitants in the municipality of the metropolitan area of the city of Naples. Today's Pompeii is located two kilometres from the archaeological site in the Pompei Scavi district, which is protected by an international UNESCO treaty. Many museums are open at the archaeological site, such as the Antiquarium of Pompeii, Pompeya, Pompeii Archaeological Park, etc.

Ercolano is a modern city founded on a volcanic rock near the ancient city of Herculaneum, where more than 4,000 people once lived. The modern city is built 25 metres above the ancient city, which was buried by a volcanic eruption that created a different geological surface. There are now 51,783 inhabitants living in Ercolan, a city partly built over the archaeological site of the ancient Herculaneum. The history of Ercolan and the ancient city of Herculaneum can be seen in the MAV – Virtual Archaeological Museum, Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, Antiquarium and some smaller museums such as Samnite House, House of Galba, House of Bicentenary and House of the Corinthian Atrium.

Torre Annunziata is a coastal town built on the remains of the former town of Oplontis, where the life of the ancient culture was ended by Vesuvius with the eruption of a pyroclastic flow. The town beach consists of black sand, which together with the coast was created by the then eruption. The former city encompasses two archaeological sites, Villa A and Villa B. Villa A Poppaea, the most luxurious villa in the city, is named after Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of Emperor Nero. Various objects and beautiful coloured frescoes with a diverse motif were found in the villa. Villa B Lucius Crassius Tertius contains the remains of a wooden staircase and wall paintings from three eras, created in a simple style. Both archaeological sites are located five kilometres west of Pompeii.

Castellammare di Stabia is a municipality known as the capital of water because it has 28 different types of water in its environment. Thermal baths are a tourist attraction, which makes Castellammare an interesting destination. The central cultural attraction of the Roman city of Stabiae is 2.5 kilometres from the centre. The old town with luxurious houses is recognisable by one of Rome's largest residential houses, Villa San Marco and Villa Arianni. The latter is named after a large fresco from the wall in the interior of the house. Archaeological finds from the ancient city of Stabiae are kept in Antiquarium Stabiese, Diocesan Museum, Museo archeologico di Stabiae “Libero D’Orsi” Castellammare di Stabia and at the archaeological site of the ancient Roman city of Stabiae.

Nocera Inferiore and Nocera Superiore are small Italian cities, between which the ancient city of Nuceria Alfaterna stood before the fatal eruption. The name of the city Nuceria Alfaterna refers to the meaning of the new city, which is understood by the word Nuceria and the population, thus addressing the word Alfaterna. In ancient Campania, Nuceria Alfaterna was the largest city in the area where the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Sorrento were founded. The cities of Nocera Inferiore and Nocera Superiore thus provide an insight into the ancient past and some important remains of Nuceria Alfaterna. It is a preserved archaeological site with an amphitheatre, a Roman bath, a necropolis and the foundations of Roman luxury houses.

Travel with Globetrotter online magazine

The story of Pompeii and nearby cities is one of the most interesting and telling stories in the history of Europe, due to the consequences of the natural disaster. Captured moments testify to the life of people in ancient times and the actual event when they wanted to escape the accident, but their fate ended due to the power of the eruption from under the volcano. When visiting the Campania countryside and the main archaeological sites of the ancient cities covered by the volcano, take the Globetrotter online magazine with you and read the travel article Jewels of the past: Pompeii and Herculaneum for useful practical tips on how to see Roman life. But your travel experience can be much more enriched if you choose something for yourself from the range of activities on offer in Pompeii and join us on a trip to learn about the city's past and the life of the Pompeian people.

For your Pompeii adventure, we've selected four current offers to get your trip to the ancient cities off to a great start. With an audio guide, you will learn about the most important archaeological sites of Roman cities and volcanoes. Three offers are organised for independent tour of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius, for which you get a ticket, audio guide, map and transportation from Naples. You can organise the ancient cities and Mount Vesuvius with an audio guide, as the course of the tour is entirely up to you. The fourth offer includes an organised tour of all three sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius with tickets and transport in a comfortable vehicle. An eight-hour excursion to sites dating back two millennia ends with a visit to Vesuvius.

If you would like to make your trip to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius a little different, here are three offers that give you an attractive experience. Reality with a visit to an archaeological site in Pompeii can be viewed with VR goggles together with a virtual simulation that creates special 3D effects on a tour of Pompeii. From Sorrento, take a guided tour of the remains of the ancient city of Herculaneum, after which you will be able to enjoy lunch in a typical vineyard on the slope of Mount Vesuvius. Experience a day of recreational sport with an hour on horseback in the Vesuvius National Park, lunch and a tour of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii with an experienced guide on an 8-hour excursion organised from Pompeii for all sports enthusiasts.

The following excursions are a special experience, without which you can't experience the area around the volcano better and enjoy it like a true Italian. Embark on a boat and see Mount Vesuvius, the caves of Bianca and Verde, the villa of Casa Malaparte on the island of Capri, as well as the ocean and coastal rocks of Faraglioni. Swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Gulf of Naples near the Faraglioni rocks overlooking the coastal rocks. With the Campania Artecard for 3-7 days or Gold 365 you will experience the landscape of Campania and Naples, as you will have the opportunity to see 40 cultural venues. Last but not least, take a cooking class with an Italian family and explore Italian flavours with a cooking duo of a father and daughter at their home.

Travel sustainably with us

We can understand sustainable travel in different ways and try to look at the course of travel as favourably as possible for us. That is why at Hostelling International Slovenia we have provided attractive travel benefits for our members in order to prevent the loss or theft of personal documents, wallets and other small items, which are an indispensable part of the trip, as well as the possibility of transporting larger packages and using personal items abroad. Clever travel company offers you to buy light summer clothes to keep your ID safe. When you travel and need your own bike or surfboard abroad, you can send your belongings to Eurosender, which brings them to you all over Europe. The courier service will deliver your package wherever you want, so you will use your belongings abroad and thus act sustainably.

Did you know?

• According to Pliny the Younger, the volcanic eruption lasted for a full 18 hours, covering the city with a four- to five-metre-high earth structure formed by a pyroclastic flow.
• A natural disaster under Vesuvius claimed 16,000 victims from towns and villages in the surrounding area, about 2,000 of whom died in Pompeii.
• Archaeologists continue excavations in Pompeii, as 1/3 of the territory of the ancient city is undiscovered under volcanic lava.
• Pompeii has so far uncovered 1,150 bodies of dead Pompeiians, depicting them at the last moment just before they were killed by a volcano.
• Before the great eruption of Vesuvius, Pompeii lived a Roman life, accompanied by a Greek culture with a Greek language.

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