Pompeii where. Pompeii: the history of the death of the city and interesting facts

Everyone knows Pompeii since childhood - the famous ancient city that died from the eruption of Vesuvius and was buried alive under lava and ash. Italy has attracted me since childhood, but for some reason it never occurred to me that I would visit the ruins of the famous Pompeii. And now this day has come. We arrived from Pompeii. The first thing you see is the entrance to the city, which was once a port. It should be noted that now the sea begins probably not at a distance of several kilometers from this place - this is how the coastline has changed in 2000 years.

Vesuvius erupted in August 79 AD. and it lasted 2 days. On the first day, there were rapid emissions of poisonous smoke from the volcano, which very quickly covered all nearby territories, including Pompeii. Many simply suffocated from this smoke on the first day. They say it was enough to inhale 1 time to burn your lungs and die. Those who managed to escape and escape began to return to the city after the smoke cleared. And this was their fatal mistake - in ancient times, people probably did not know that smoke emissions were a harbinger of a volcanic eruption. And on the 2nd day, the volcanic eruption began, and then all those who managed to survive on the first day and returned to the city were already killed. Such is the sad story.

Most of the houses look something like this - destroyed walls, remains of stoves, dishes, floors.

And this is the central square of ancient Pompeii (ancient, because now there are new, modern Pompeii nearby, an unremarkable provincial settlement) - the Forum. Or rather, what is left of it - columns, restored walls, arches of temples.

Panda really liked it here 🙂

The guide says that when the city was found, excavations began and the first crowds of tourists poured in here - everything here looked less destroyed. More than 50 houses were opened for visiting. But tourists - they are like that, everyone loves to touch, break off a pebble for memory, etc. - as a result of which half of the houses of interest turned into the same dull ruins, and then it was decided to delimit the visit for tourists, install fences, and close some areas to tourists altogether.

And this is Vesuvius. Visually, it is quite far away, but apparently the killer wave travels long distances.

Now Vesuvius does not have a peak, instead a crater has formed. But before the eruption, it was one mountain with a top, and it was higher than it is now. At the moment, Vesuvius is considered an almost extinct volcano and it will never again make such a terrible eruption. But nevertheless - periodically there are small tremors. Specialists have installed sensors to control the action of the volcano, and if he suddenly thinks of something again, people will immediately know about it and will be able to prevent such a number of victims.

City tap with water - I don’t know if it’s a remake or left from ancient times with minor modern modifications in the form of a tap. But people here drink water and wash themselves. I didn't risk it.

Deserted streets of Pompeii.

And this is a neighboring street - it is full of tourists.
Thanks to the lava and ash that covered the city by 5-6 meters (and in some places by 8 meters), Pompeii is almost the only ancient city that has survived to our times in its original form and is a unique historical monument. Even now, looking at the ruins, it is hard to fully imagine how everything looked here 2000 years ago.

In some wealthy houses, swimming pools, inscriptions, mosaics and drawings on the walls have been preserved. It is immediately clear that not ordinary people lived in such a house.

We came across the Maly Theater

Next to it is a forum. Here, too, there was probably a place of concentration of people in the ancient city.

Remains of an ancient theatre. Well preserved!

All seats are numbered with steel plates. I suspect that small chamber performances are held here to this day.

Oh, and these are the modern inhabitants of ancient Pompeii - angry dogs! They roam the ruins, you can stumble upon them anywhere. Touching and feeding them is highly discouraged, because. wild dogs can bite.

Judging by the picture on the wall - another prosperous house. True, air conditioning, a chair and a door are, of course, a remake =)

And this house looks like a dyeing workshop or baths.

Another well preserved house

Mosaic with a dog in the doorway is quite original. I wonder if a real, live dog lived here?

And the architects left this for us - so that you can see how much the city was buried and how it is being excavated in stages.

Photos of excavated skeletons. Including the dog! Maybe the one who lived in a wealthy house?

These are public baths.

Water was poured into vessels, bath visitors scooped water from them for bath procedures.

And this is Grande Palestra - it looks like a big garden or a training ground, or another forum.

We went through the city, and at the very end there is a large antique afmitheater.

Some of the inscriptions have been preserved. Here, gladiator fights, competitions and other spectacles, which the ancient inhabitants loved to attend, were probably arranged.

Go ahead. In general, if you believe the guidebook, then almost the central place in the city is occupied by a lupanar - an antique brothel. And at almost every step, phalluses are painted on the walls of the house, which indicate the direction to it. But alas, we passed through the city, but did not reach Lupanaria, and did not notice a single phallus yet. Maybe they were looking in the wrong place or walking? And so we decided to return to the entrance on the other side of the city. Suddenly we are lucky here!

Hooray! We found the first pointer to the lupanar. True, he did not point anywhere, but simply a male genital organ was drawn, looking up at home. By the way, the lupanar was completely in the opposite direction.

And here's another one. True, we did not meet them again 🙂

If you have watched at least one scientific documentary film about Pompeii, then this figurine should be familiar to you (for example, I bought myself a magnet with its image). This is the most famous house in Pompeii (though, probably, after the lupanar) - the house of the Faun. This statue of a Faun is a copy, and it is in honor of her that the house is named.

It was a wealthy house, with its own garden!

And this is probably a picture of the battle of Alexander the Great (or a copy of it).

Next to the House of the Faun are the Baths of the Forum

well preserved

Cafeteria implanted in an antique house

During the excavations, as soon as they stumbled upon the remains of people, they made a small hole, filled it with plaster and got such a cast of a person buried alive under a layer of lava and ash.

And these guys received less honor - they were simply loaded into boxes and put on the street behind bars.

In the neighborhood - jugs

We are again on the forum square of the city

Oh, and this is the same lupanar. We finally found it! It turned out to be a very small building, in which there were only 4 tiny rooms. Beds and pillows are made of stone, not very comfortable. the size of the beds is also small - they can be used to judge the height of the people who once lived here.

The famous pornographic drawings on the walls of the lupanaria

Well, that's all, the lupanar was the last point to visit. Then we decided to go to the necropolis to the museum of unearthed human remains. Our guidebook said that it was located near the entrance to Pompeii, but as we later found out, it moved and is now located near the Amphitheater, i.e. in the opposite part of the city. Since the path was far (the city itself is not so small, and wandering through the ruins in 35-degree heat is not so easy) - we had to come to terms with the fact that we had already seen several skeletons and plaster casts of people - and in general we have had enough.

At dinner, we were served beer in such a jug - a mojito!

From the Pompei Scavi railway platform, sightseeing buses leave for Vesuvius every hour - and what is convenient - I looked at Pompeii and went to the volcano itself to visit it, the hero of the occasion. At first we were taken by bus for about 30 minutes, then we were transferred to such armored specialized vehicles, where we had to fasten ourselves on each seat, and already on it we got almost to the top of the volcano, as far as possible. Further - only on foot. Here we are on our way.

It should be noted that from the point of view of shoes, we were not prepared - it is not very convenient to climb a mountain in slippers, albeit along paved paths. Volcanic crumbs are constantly clogged among the fingers and cause a lot of inconvenience when walking.

Pompeii is somewhere on the left, where the green piece is in the photo. Given that there used to be water there, then mentally you can move the coastline and imagine how it looked before (I suspect that before the volcanic eruption)

I don't remember why we have so much fun in this photo. But we were already tired of going uphill by this point.

And this is the path that the lava makes for itself.

We are all higher!

Hooray, we finally climbed to the crater! This is what the volcano looks like from above.

Vesuvius crater.

In some places, hot air is still coming out of the volcano. Although it is practically not dangerous, it is still valid.

Can you imagine what was here 2000 years ago?

Vesuvius was not my first mountain, but it was the first volcano I climbed, albeit not so active. The very idea was very impressive and exciting.

Yes, this is a view on the opposite side of the coast. Somewhere near the bay is Naples. By the way, the eruption of Vesuvius did not reach Naples at the time - too far.

What can I say - it's nice to walk along the volcano. It's worth the money - to visit a historical place, and even on a volcano!

It's amazing - some people prefer to build temples, churches, make sacred places on volcanoes - I don't know why, like closer to God? Volcanic eruption - divine intervention? Did these people study geography well at school, I wonder?

I have a pretty face, don't I?

I'm going back. Our time is running out, we must have time to get into the car, otherwise it may leave without us.

Pompeii is definitely a place worth visiting. I do not regret at all that we came here, spent the whole day on it, we were tired, but we were very satisfied. We had to go back to Naples - by train to go about 50 minutes. Bye-bye Vesuvius and Pompeii!

Address: Italy, near Naples
Date of death of the city: 79 year
Coordinates: 40°44"59.8"N 14°29"10.5"E

On August 24, 79, in the Roman city of Pompeii, houses shuddered from an earthquake. The earth shook and cracked, the sea stirred. An ominous roar was heard.

Pompeii from a bird's eye view

So deep abysses formed in the depths of the earth that a herd of sheep of 600 heads fell into one of them. This is how Vesuvius, one of the most formidable volcanoes on the planet, began to wake up. The sky was covered with a black cloud that covered the sun, and the day turned into night. The top of the volcano split into two parts, columns of black smoke and huge fiery tongues rose from the mouth.

As if from a giant weapon, ash and pieces of pumice fell from the sky. Torrents of rain falling from the cloud turned the ashes into liquid mud. And the next day, lava flowed down the slopes of Vesuvius, flooding the surroundings, and a tsunami raged. The eruption of unprecedented strength lasted about 18 hours. Ashes even reached Egypt and Syria. The city of Pompeii and 20 thousand of its inhabitants were buried under a three-meter layer of volcanic rocks..

On the streets of the city

Among the dead was Pliny the Elder, the famous erudite writer. Driven by scientific interest, he approached Vesuvius by boat and ended up near one of the centers of the disaster. Pliny tried to calm the people, advising them to tie pillows on their heads with towels and flee from Pompeii. After 1750 years, the death of the once prosperous Roman city was immortalized on the canvas by Karl Bryullov. In the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”, the Russian painter managed to convey the tragedy of the doomed people.

Pompeii - a victim of the fire element

Before painting the picture, K. Bryullov collected a lot of historical material. He visited the ruins of Pompeii, examined the houses in detail and made a number of sketches - the landscape, the ruins, the petrified bodies of people. Thus, the image of a woman with a floundering child reproduces the poses of excavated casts, as Bryullov saw them in the Neapolitan museum.

Grand Theatre

Scientists have managed to reconstruct the death poses of the victims of the eruption. In place of the decomposed body, voids formed, and by filling these voids with plaster, one can accurately recreate the last movement of the dying. Pompeii is a vivid example of how a raging element can stop a measuredly flowing life and, like a camera, capture the horror of the last moment. The rich of Pompeii died with sacks of gold over their shoulders, and the beggars froze in the pose of petitioners.

It was traditionally believed that the death of the Pompeians was long and painful: inhaling vapors of poisonous gases, people died of suffocation. But recently a group of Naples volcanologists put forward new version- the inhabitants of Pompeii were instantly destroyed by a pyroclastic flow with a temperature of 100 - 500 ° C. Gas and ash moving at a speed of 100 km / h turned wooden objects into coal.

Temple of Apollo

The bread in Modest's bakery was charred and was found by archaeologists nearly 2,000 years later. The method of pouring gypsum helped to restore not only hundreds of human bodies and animals, but even vegetables and fruits.

Pompeii - a city that has risen from time immemorial

The ashes of Vesuvius reliably sealed Pompeii, keeping them almost intact for two thousand years. Excavations began in 1748 and continue to this day. Before the gaze of the astonished explorers, the ancient city appeared in all its splendor. All the main structures typical of the ancient Roman culture were found here. In the center of Pompeii is the Roman Forum, where administrative and religious buildings, an indoor market, a basilica and a temple of Jupiter with two triumphal arches are concentrated.

Temple of Jupiter

There were two theaters in the city: musical performances and comedies were staged in the covered odeon, and wild animals and gladiators competed on the stage of the amphitheater. On the territory of the ancient Roman complex, ancient baths, reservoirs for fountains, a large number of residential, public buildings and shops, named after individual events, gods or personalities, have been preserved.

So, in the garden near the Perfumer's House, plants were grown for the manufacture of perfumes and fragrant oils. In the house of Pinarius Ceriale, which belonged to a jeweler, hundreds of precious stones, and in the House of the surgeon - numerous surgical instruments. Wealthy citizens decorated their homes with luxurious frescoes and mosaics.

Arch of Caligula

For example, in the House of the Tragic Poet, scenes from Greek mythology are immortalized on frescoes, and wall paintings in the Villa of the Mysteries illustrate the rite of initiation into the Dionysian mysteries. No less beautiful is the House of the Gilded Cupids with a covered colonnade decorated with paintings based on Greek myths. In the aristocratic house of the Faun, the floor is covered with a mosaic depicting the battle of Alexander the Great and Darius III at Issus. Even pools in suburban baths are decorated with frescoes on the theme of "water" - waterfalls, mountain caves, etc. Like in any Roman city, a lupanar functioned in Pompeii. The erotic drawings decorating the walls of the lupanar served as a kind of advertisement for the services of "priestesses of love". Their services cost about 8 times more than one serving of wine.

Temple of Vespasian

On this occasion, the Russian TV presenter Boris Oskarovich Burda aptly joked: “If the gods punished Pompeii for licentiousness, then soon there will be nothing left of us at all.” And scientists say that "punishment" is not far off: powerful eruptions of Vesuvius, comparable in strength to the catastrophe of 79, happen once every 2000 years.

The city of Pompeii is a wonderful example of ancient Roman architecture, covered with legends. Rising from the ashes, it has become a popular Italian open-air museum, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Still not fully explored, the museum city is located in Campania (near Naples) in the shadow of Vesuvius - the infamous volcano, the eruption of which brought death to Pompeii, but not oblivion ...

The formation of Pompeii

It is believed that Pompeii was founded in the VI century BC. an ancient people - the Oscans, who lived in southern Italy. In Oscan, "pumpe" translates as "five", which may symbolize the merging of five small settlements that have existed in this area since time immemorial. According to another version, the name of the city comes from the ancient Greek "pompe", which means "triumphal procession". One of the legends tells about the founding of the city by Hercules, who solemnly marched through the streets of Pompeii after defeating the three-body monster Geryon (the tenth feat).

The only thing known about the early history of Pompeii is that it was alternately owned by the Greeks, Etruscans, Kums, Samnites. Pompeii became part of the Roman Republic only in 310 BC, while maintaining its own autonomy. It remained self-governing until 89 BC, when the consul Sula awarded it the status of another colony of Rome (retribution for the anti-Roman uprising).

It should be noted that Pompeii connected South Italy and Rome, being one of the important points of the Via Appia trade route.

Here at an accelerated pace:

  • built markets and other commercial premises;
  • erected bridges, an amphitheater, baths, multi-storey buildings;

  • installed water pipes and paved the streets with stones.

At the same time, most of the city was given over to luxurious villas of noble Romans.

Beginning of the End

The fatal earthquake that awakened Vesuvius from sleep occurred in 62. As a result of strong tremors on February 5, not a single surviving building remained in the city. And although most of the city's buildings were repaired, some of them remained dilapidated until the "judgment" day ...

The death of Pompeii

The inhabitants of Pompeii could not even imagine that nature was preparing a truly cruel blow for them. They continued to carry out restoration work, even began the construction of the Central Baths, without taking seriously the new shocks (seventies). Indeed, in those days, seismic activity in Campania was considered the norm.

However, the retribution for the shown carelessness was not long in coming ...

In August 79, Vesuvius awoke, showering innocent citizens with ash flakes and rocks falling straight from the sky. Only a day later, the eruption ended, which brought death not only to Pompeii, but also to two large cities - Stabiae and Herculaneum, not to mention small villages and villas. It's no joke, the ashes of Vesuvius reached the borders of Syria and Egypt!

There is a version according to which the eruption lasted not one, but two whole days. The first of them was marked by a rapid release of poisonous smoke, inhaling which people immediately burned their lungs and died. Those who managed to escape returned the next day when the smoke had already cleared.

As soon as the smoke cleared, the strings of surviving residents stretched towards the city, which became their fatal mistake.

On that terrible day, a peaceful city turned into an earthly “branch of hell”. Death seemed to be in the air, catching the townspeople in temples, houses, and markets. She also pursued outside the city, taking from two to thirty thousand human lives according to various sources.

It should be noted that most of the inhabitants (at that time the population of Pompeii was 20 thousand people) still managed to avoid death. But there was nowhere for them to return to. A multi-meter ball of lapilli and ashes is all that remains of a thriving home.

The commission of inquiry sent to Vesuvius came to the conclusion that it makes no sense to restore the lost cities. For a long time, people wandered through the ruins of the dead city, trying to find the lost property. But, and they left, realizing the futility of such searches.

The city that rose from the ashes

Forgotten for centuries, the city of Pompeii was accidentally discovered in the middle of the 16th century by the Italian architect Domenico Fontana.

Who knows if the ancient walls would have ever been discovered if the Count of Tuttavilla had not wished to build an underground tunnel from his villa to the Sarno River? But, apparently, Pompeii was destined to be "reborn" ...

Between 1592 and 1600, Fontana was lucky to find several fragments of wall paintings and ancient inscriptions, one of which spoke of "decurio pompeis". However, a misinterpretation of the phrase (the mention of a city office in Pompeii was mistaken for the name of the owner of the villa of Pompey the Great) did not allow us to connect the find with the “lost” Roman settlement.

The find, directly pointing to the location of ancient Pompeii, was found only at the end of the 17th century. So the inscription, in which the name of the city once again appeared, put an end to the discussion that lasted for scientific world from 1637.

However, the excavations turned out to be a very difficult task - a solid and thick layer of volcanic material reliably guarded the secret entrusted to him. The boundary pillar, which clearly indicates the ownership of the ruins, was excavated only in August 1763.

"Modern" Pompeii

Incredibly, the sudden and quick death "saved" Pompeii from slow destruction - there is no other ancient city that has been so well preserved.

How to get to Pompeii

You can get to the famous archaeological complex inexpensively (for 2-4 euros) by the following modes of transport:

  • a train to "Pompeii-Scavi-Villa dei Misteri" from Naples or Sorrento - the journey will take just over half an hour;
  • bus - the connection to Pompeii is organized by the companies CSTP (in Salerno), SITF (in Naples) and Marozzi (in Rome).

Walking in your own car will be much more expensive - for just one hour you will have to pay about 5 euros for parking. Despite the fact that the cost of the entrance ticket for adults is 12 euros.

The city of Pompeii - climate and features of movement

When planning a trip, it should be understood that in the hot summer the temperature in the South of Italy often rises to +35 °C. So that a walk through the complex does not turn into a tedious task, it is recommended to take more drinking water and a tube of sunscreen.

By the way, in addition to classic walking tours, riding on rented bicycles is allowed on the territory of Pompeii. True, the comfort of movement in the latter way is somewhat doubtful, since there are a lot of cobblestones on the territory, and the roads are dotted with wide furrows left on the masonry by iron cart wheels.

The appearance of boulders is easily explained by the specific structure of the ancient trading city, conditionally divided into upper and lower parts. On the bridges of the last fled wastewater, interspersed with garbage, not allowing you to go to the other side of the street. To solve the problem, high stones were installed - an ancient prototype of a modern pedestrian crossing (“zebras”).

What are the ancient walls "silent" about

A traveler who sets foot on the legendary lands for the first time discovers superbly executed statues, mosaics, frescoes, which testifies to the high level of skill of their performers.

The next thing that catches your eye is the difference in architectural styles - the chaotic development of the old quarters built during the Oskovs is replaced by new "slender" rectangular quarters with straight streets, temples, markets and amphitheaters.

Other advantages of Roman urban planning include the presence of:

  • paved pavements, the care of which fell on the shoulders of the townspeople, who repaired and cleaned the area adjacent to his house;
  • the sloping profile of sidewalks and roads that direct wastewater to the so-called urban sewer.

At the same time, shopping streets were framed by the facades of buildings, the lower floors of which were given over to shops, and the upper floors were given over to private quarters (housing).

Residential quarters looked far from being so presentable. Due to the warm climate, private houses here were built mainly without windows, which made it possible to significantly save on expensive glass. Only sometimes in the blind ends facing the street, narrow cracks made their way.

Through the efforts of prominent archaeologists (Alcubierre, F. le Vega, Carolina Bonaparte, Giuseppe Fiorelli) were discovered:

  • necropolises and forums;
  • theaters and temples;
  • gate, amphitheater and defensive walls;
  • "remains" of animals and people - in the thickness of the lava, scientists discovered numerous voids. Filled with plaster, they helped to recreate the poses and even facial expressions of the dead;

  • entire residential quarters filled with perfectly preserved household utensils, frescoes, mosaics, and sculptures.

A layer of hardened lava protected the interior decoration of houses from the merciless influence of time, which did not touch significant cultural values ​​- an important source that tells about the urban way of life, life, art of the Romans who lived here in the 1st century. And although more than half (about 3/5 of the ancient territory) has already been cleared, the city of Pompeii continues to tremblingly keep its secrets, the solution of which lies on the shoulders of future generations.

The city of Pompeii and its sights

Having allocated a whole day for the tour, the tourist allows himself to calmly stroll through the streets in search of the next “tidbit”.

But what about people with limited time?

There are a number of attractions that are recommended for a mandatory visit during a tour of the city of Pompeii:

  • temple of Apollo - considered the oldest temple erected in honor of the Greek god in the 18th century BC. From its majestic colonnade, consisting of 28 slender columns, only two have survived. It is assumed that the main building, which lies in ruins today, rests on an ancient altar. The only thing that managed to survive was the frescoes decorating the inner niches of the temple (dedicated to the Trojan War);

  • temples of Jupiter (a sanctuary rising on a three-meter podium in the center of the forum), Fortune Augusta and Laurels;

  • temple of Isis, erected in the II century BC. - its facade was surrounded on three sides by porticos decorated with Corinthian columns. In the old days, a container with the waters of the Nile was kept here, and statues of Harpocrates and Anubis stood in the niches;

  • richly decorated dwellings - the Houses of Vitti, the Surgeon, the Tragic Poet, the Faun;
  • numerous terms (Stabian, central, suburban) and the Pompeian Forum, accommodating the entire urban population;

  • Great Palestra - an area intended for sporting events;
  • an ancient brothel, known as the "lupanar" - a two-story building, the walls of which are covered with specific frescoes of a pornographic nature;

  • thermopolies - a system of taverns offering visitors hot food, most recently prepared only at home;
  • Garden of Refugees and Street of Plenty;

  • the oldest Roman amphitheater - built much earlier than the Colosseum, he saw a lot of gladiatorial fights;

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city in southern Italy near Naples. As you know, Pompeii was buried under a multi-meter layer of ash during the eruption in 79. Today, the city is a huge open-air museum, since 1997 it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The city was founded by the Oscans in the 6th century. The name of the city comes from the Oscan pumpe - five, since the city was formed by the merger of five smaller settlements. In Roman times, the division into five electoral districts was preserved. Another version of the origin of the name is Greek, from the word pompe - a triumphal procession.

According to this legend, the city was founded by Hercules, who, after the victory over Gerion, solemnly walked through these places. IN different time the city was owned by the Greeks, Etruscans and Samnites. In 310 B.C. Pompeii became an ally of the Roman Republic as an autonomous self-governing city.

In 90-88 BC. the city participates in an uprising against Rome.

In 89 B.C. Consul Sula took the city, limited its autonomy and made it a colony of Rome. The city occupied an important place on the trade route between and southern Italy. Many noble Romans had villas in Pompeii. A high-profile event was the massacre between the inhabitants of Pompeii and Nuceria in 59 during the gladiatorial games. The usual fight between the fans turned into a bloodbath. As a result, games were banned in Pompeii for 3 years.

Tickets

Entrance ticket to the archaeological complex of Pompeii costs 15 euros. For visitors under 18 years old - admission is free, but you need to show a document confirming your age.

  • We advise you to buy a ticket in advance online only at the official ticket offices ticketone.it
    See registration on the site.

How to get from Naples on your own

You can get to Pompeii on your own from Naples, by bus or by a rented car. We recommend options with public transport(in the south of Italy it goes according to mood and not regularly), only for the most experienced travelers with a margin of time and a great desire to save money. Let's consider in detail all the methods:

By rented car

If you are traveling through the small towns of Italy on your own, then you can come to Pompeii by private transport - of the independent options, it is the most convenient. Parking near the archaeological area will cost approximately 5 euros per hour. Read about the features of car rental in Italy and choose the best option on our website

  • You will need:

By train

In Naples, Napoli Porta Nolana and Napoli P. Garibaldi stations run direct trains Circumvesuviana (literally translated "Around Vesuvius") - of the options, public transport is the only one that we can recommend. Here is a link to the schedule. You need to get off at the station Pompei Scravi Villa dei Misteri- It is located almost next to the ticket office. Drive approximately 30 minutes.

The ticket can be bought in advance online at the box office ots.eavsrl.it/web/public/ots/ticket/index

Choose the Napoli-Sorrento line and a ticket to Villa Misteri, date and number of passengers. Click Avanti. Please note that the site is also available in English, the switch on the right is the British flag.

Trains depart in the morning from 09:06 and 11:36.

To visit Pompeii, you need to allocate at least 2 hours. Also on this line you can get to. From Pompeii back to Naples, the train leaves at 17:18, a round-trip ticket costs 11 euros, there are no discounts for children.

Trenitalia companies depart from Naples Central Station (Napoli Centale) in the direction of Pompei Station approximately every 30 minutes. The ticket costs 2.80 euros one way. If the train arrives on schedule and there are no stops, the travel time will be 38 minutes. Be prepared for frequent stops, proximity to gypsies and various beggars.

The station is located about 3 kilometers from the entrance to the archaeological park, so it is rational to wait for bus 004 (possibly N50) and take it 3 stops.

Google advises to look at the schedule on the website of the official carrier http://www.fsbusitaliacampania.it, but, for example, in the schedule of bus 4, I do not see the Mazzini stop. Apparently it's easier to ask the locals on arrival, they should help. We will be grateful if someone shares their adventure experience in the comments.

By bus

According to information from Google, direct buses N5000 and N5020 from SITAsud go to the archaeological complex relatively regularly from Naples - I do not recommend this option, since the carrier’s website does not really have a schedule or prices. To complete the picture, consider this method.

The Via Ferraris Galileo bus stop in Naples is located about a kilometer from the Napoli Centrale station.

Bus tickets should cost 10 euros, you can buy at the following addresses:

  • BAR ETTORE, PIAZZA GARIBALDI 95
  • Inside Napoli Centrale station look for EDICOLA NUMBER ONE HUDSON NEWS
  • ARPANET, corso Arnaldo Lucci, 163
  • BIGLIETTERIA NAPOLI CAPOLINEA, PIAZZALE IMMACOLATELLA VECCHIA 1
  • BAR DEL PORTO, VIA C OLIVARES ANG. VIA CAMPO D'ISOLA 26
  • BAR TIRAMISU', Napoli - Corso Lucci

What to see

Here are the sights of Pompeii that are recommended to visit during the tour:

  1. Temple of Apollo - one of the oldest temples ancient city dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. The first mention of the shrine dates back to the eighth century BC, which, however, is confirmed by archaeological excavations. Now we can only imagine and speculate, but most likely there was an altar on the site of the current ruins, and only after a hundred or two hundred years (they were in no hurry to build before) the main building was built. To date, only two of the majestic colonnade containing 28 columns have survived. Also, two millennia later, in the inner niches of the temple, we can observe frescoes with scenes from the Trojan War.
  2. Refugee Garden
  3. Great Palestra
  4. Temple of Jupiter
  5. Amphitheater
  6. Street of Abundance
  7. Thermae
  8. House of Venus in the Shell
  9. Thermopolia
  10. Bolshoi and Maly Theater
  11. Gladiator Barracks Triangular Forum
  12. Lupanar
  13. Forum
  14. Eumachia building
  15. Temple of Vespasian
  16. Market
  17. House of the Faun
  18. House of the Small Fountain
  19. basilica

Visiting architectural monuments with a good guide will allow you to immerse yourself in the ancient world for a while and touch its secrets.

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Pompeii is a huge open-air museum city, which in 1997 was included in the UNESCO list cultural heritage peace. Thousands of tourists flock here every day to touch the ancient history, to witness everyday details of a thousand years ago and feel the horror of the city buried under the ash and lava of a capricious volcano.

Pompeii was founded by the Oska mountain tribes in the 7th century. BC, who built the city on solidified lava, not guessing either the origin of this "foundation" or the reason for the fertility of the soil.
At that time, Vesuvius was sleeping and seemed like a harmless mountain.
In the 4th century BC became part of the Roman state.
It remained overshadowed by the larger settlements of Campania for a long time.
History of urban planning Pompey It is divided into two periods, as evidenced by the presence of different architectural parts of the city: old quarters with chaotic buildings, and new quarters built according to a single plan.
The old quarters are a legacy of the Oscans who built houses intuitively. Planned construction began in the 4th century. BC. At this time, straight streets with names, rectangular quarters, temples, markets, amphitheaters appeared.
Pompeii was built according to Roman urban planning traditions: in the center, two streets cardo and decumanus intersected, forming a central square.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the area of ​​​​Pompeii was more than 65 hectares.
Pavements were paved with cobblestones, and caring for the condition of the roads was the responsibility of the townspeople: everyone watched the area adjacent to the house, cleaned up the trash, and repaired it. Roads and mourning had a sloping profile for the flow of water, heading into the city sewer.

A fountain was installed at almost every intersection. On some streets there were altars decorated with paintings, stucco and inscriptions.

The facades of the houses overlooked the city streets, on the lower floors of which there were shops and workshops, on the upper floors there were living quarters.
Excellently executed frescoes, mosaics, statues testify to the high level of fine art. The originals are placed in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, but copies have been installed in their place, which give a wonderful impression of former luxury.

Private houses were quite simple. The warm climate made it possible to do without windows, thereby saving on expensive glass. Sometimes narrow cracks were punched in the wall. The houses faced the street with blank ends, instead of numbers they wrote the name of the owner.

Above the residential houses of noble citizens, a portico was arranged - a wooden canopy on pillars that protected from rain and sun.
The atrium was considered the main room of the dwelling, i.e. enclosed courtyard, in the center of which there was a pool for collecting rainwater. This water was considered sacred. Adjacent to the atrium were rooms intended for sleeping and working; and also had a garden and a dining room. The houses of the nobility were distinguished by luxury and wealth, the number of rooms reached 40.

Water was supplied through pipes to the houses and fountains of the city.

Pompeii was a rich and highly developed city where trade and crafts flourished.
At the same time, it was a densely populated city, in which the entire flow of people flocked to the business center of the Forum.
The Forum hosted city council meetings and related ceremonies, from elections and oaths to solemn funerals.
In working on the project of the forum, the architects followed the ancient tradition: it should not be small for practical purposes, but it should not seem deserted due to the low population.
The oldest building of the Forum is considered to be the Basilica, in which justice was administered, and in the rest of the time commercial and entertainment meetings were held in it. Near the Basilica was a prison, consisting of cramped rooms without windows, with narrow, iron-bound doors.

In the II century. BC. the central place in the Forum was occupied by the temple of Jupiter or the Capitol, which was considered the main sacred building. After the final conquest by the Romans, the temple was dedicated to the three Capitoline deities - Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A wide staircase with a stone terrace led to its main entrance, from where the priests delivered ceremonial speeches.

During the Roman Empire, the Forum was erected Triumphal Arch, dedicated to the emperor Tiberius, administrative buildings, a tabularium - the city archive, buildings for ceremonies, the temple of Apollo, the Pantheon - the temple of Augustus were built.

Part of the area was occupied by a food market - macellum. Nearby were the temples of the city Lares and Vespasian, the stock exchange of Eumachia, Comitium - a platform for citizens to vote.

At sunset, the Forum closed. The porter went around all the exits and locked the gates. The main square of the city was empty until morning. After sunset, only prison guards and prisoners were allowed in the Forum.

The ancient Romans loved and worshiped the gods of the conquered peoples. They moved other people's idols to themselves and treated them with great respect, trying to earn their sympathy. Pagan temples were located on the main squares.

The best preserved temple of Isis.
Isis was the idol of wealthy Roman women, who found her protection in extramarital love. The priestesses of the temple of Isis also arranged dates between same-sex lovers.
The temple, placed in the middle of a quadrangular portico with columns covered with drawings, rises on a high podium with a side staircase. On the sides are equipped with two niches intended for the statues of Anubis and Arpocrates, the son and brother of Isis.
Behind the temple are small buildings, here the priestesses of Isis gathered and arranged dates, and there was also a Purgatory with water from the Nile, which was used in the rite of purification.

In Pompeii there were two theaters built according to the Greek model.
Grand Theatre was built in 200-150. BC. in a natural hollow of a hill. During the time of Augustus, the theater was enlarged, and its capacity was 5,000 spectators. The lower part of the theater has been preserved, covered with marble and intended for the most important citizens.

IN Pompeii worked set thermopolium- ancient taverns, where they served hot food and wine with spices. The dishes were warmed up with the help of volumetric vessels built into the counter up to the very neck, into which hot water.


There were many public baths in the city, while each rich house had its own baths.

But the life of a prosperous city was cut short by the will of fate. The destructive eruption of Vesuvius brought not only human tragedy, but also gave "immortality" to Pompeii.
The forerunners of the volcanic eruption was a strong earthquake that occurred in 62 AD. Almost all the buildings of Pompeii were damaged, some completely destroyed. But the city was quickly restored.

The eruption of Vesuvius began on the afternoon of August 24, 79 AD.
At first, few residents paid attention to the cloud of ash and steam that rose above the volcano, because Vesuvius had long been considered asleep.
Soon a black cloud covered the entire sky over the city, ash flakes settled on the roofs of houses, sidewalks, trees. The ashes had to be constantly shaken off the clothes.
Under its layer, the bright colors of the city faded, merging into a single gray background. Continuous tremors constantly shook the earth.
The earthquake that began was so strong that carts on the streets began to overturn, and statues fell from houses and tiles crumbled.
It was possible to go out into the street only by covering the head with a pillow, since after the ashes, stones began to fall from the sky. People's anxiety grew.
The pillar rising from the mouth of the volcano reached a height of 20 km.

Many residents tried to hide from the ashes in their houses, but poisonous sulfurous vapors quickly filled the air there and people died from suffocation.

Under the weight of ash, the roofs of houses collapsed on the inhabitants who had taken refuge in them.
Many died, unable to leave valuables.
During the excavations, many people were found with bags full of gold and other valuables.
The explosion was extended in time, so most of the residents managed to leave the city.

Slaves remained in the city, who were left on purpose to protect household property, and citizens who stubbornly refused to leave their homes.
The next morning met the people who remained in the vicinity with pitch darkness, the air became hot. The eruption of Vesuvius completely destroyed.
The city disappeared under a layer of ash, the thickness of which reached several meters.
For many centuries, in the place where olive trees used to grow and vineyards were green, dull gray plains of hardened lava stretched.
The cities buried under the ashes disappeared from the memory of people for almost 1700 years, until by chance, at the end of the 16th century, the architect Fontana, digging a well near Sarno, found the remains of a wall and fragments of frescoes. The first excavations of the city began in the 18th century.
The first of all the cities were excavated.

Directions:
Take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to the Pompei Scavi stop.

Opening hours:
From November 1 to March 31: all days from 8.30 to 17.00 (ticket office until 15.30)
From April 1 to October 31: all days from 8.30 to 19.30 (ticket office until 18.00)
Closed: January 1st, May 1st, December 25th.

The official archaeological site of Pompeii is www.pompeiisites.org.