Ruins of Pompeii

Pompeii: A Roman Town Preserved by Disaster

On the morning of 24 August, 79 CE, Vesuvius erupted in a Plinian column that sent around 4 cubic kilometres of volcanic material into the atmosphere. Pompeii was buried under roughly 4-6 metres of pumice and ash within 24 hours. The site was largely forgotten until rediscovery in the 18th century, and systematic excavation has continued since 1748. About two-thirds of the city has been excavated; the remainder is intentionally left unexcavated to preserve it with better future techniques.

The site covers about 66 hectares and requires most of a day to explore adequately. At peak summer hours it receives several thousand visitors simultaneously, which affects the experience but not the substance of what you’re seeing.

What to Prioritise

The Forum is the starting point and gives the best sense of Pompeii’s civic scale: the Temple of Jupiter, the Basilica (a law court), and the market buildings arranged around the main public space. The plaster casts of victims — made by pouring plaster into the voids left by decomposed bodies in the ash — are displayed at several locations throughout the site. The most accessible groupings are at the Garden of the Fugitives.

The House of the Faun is the largest private residence on site: 3,000 square metres with two atria, two peristyle gardens, and extraordinary mosaic floors. The famous Alexander mosaic (a copy; the original is in the Naples Archaeological Museum) depicting Alexander the Great’s battle against Darius is here.

The Villa of the Mysteries, slightly outside the main city walls, has the most significant fresco cycle: large-scale paintings around a dining room that probably depict Dionysian initiation rites. The figures are almost life-size and the colour preservation is remarkable given two thousand years of history.

The Thermopolium of Regio V, excavated fully in 2020, is one of the most significant recent discoveries: an almost intact Roman fast food counter with painted decorations, ceramic vessels still in place, and remains of food found in the containers. It gives a more precise picture of daily commercial life than most ancient sites can offer.

Naples Museum

The Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples houses the best finds from Pompeii that can’t be kept on-site: the Alexander mosaic, frescoes from the Villa of the Mysteries, surgical instruments, household items, jewellery, and the Secret Room (Gabinetto Segreto) of erotic art. A visit to the museum before or after Pompeii significantly adds to the experience.

Getting There

Pompeii is 25km south of Naples, accessible by Circumvesuviana train from Naples Piazza Garibaldi in about 40 minutes (the Pompei Scavi station is at the main entrance). Day tickets to the archaeological site cost around €18. Combined tickets for Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other Vesuvian sites are available and are worth calculating if you plan to visit more than one.

Herculaneum, 12km west, was also destroyed by the same eruption and is in many ways better preserved — it was buried by superheated flows rather than ash, which carbonised organic material (wood beams, beds, food) rather than vaporising it. The site is smaller and less overwhelming; doing both Pompeii and Herculaneum in one trip is manageable.