In the Italian region of Campania, is the Vesuvius volcano, which has erupted many times throughout human history, and is considered to be one of the most dangerous since it has a population of millions living in its surroundings. In 79AD, the eruption of the volcano created one of the most catastrophic events in Roman ancient history, destroying several cities, burying others under its ashes, and killing thousands of people. One the cities that got buried under the volcano ashes was Pompeii. The city was forgotten under the ashes for over 1500 years, until the 16th century, when Popes and engineers started to take interest in the Roman past, wanting to expose the ancient treasures of Pompeii. Since then, this ancient city has been slowly excavated all year round to uncover its remains. The structures, artefacts and human remains found here, provide us a unique archaeological context, like a time capsule, that send us back to that fatidic day. Because the city was completely forgotten after its destruction, it provides archaeologists with a perfect example of how life was in 79 AD. Any other archaeological site would have layer after layer of construction over destruction phases. Here time stopped! The city of Pompeii was founded in the 7th or 6th century BC, by the Osci, an Italic people from Campania. By the 4th century it came under the domain of Rome, and by 80 BC it officially became a Roman colony. By the time of its destruction, is believed that Pompeii had a population of 11000 people, with a prominent elite, who subsidized the development of the city. It had a complex water system, an amphitheater, a gymnasium, a port, and even two theatres. Visiting the city is a unique experience. Is like going back in time. There is no other ancient city in the world that could provide such experience of wander through its ancient streets, stepping on the same stones from 2000 years ago, entering rich and poor people houses, visit its markets, its bakeries, tabernae (a food stall), bath houses, its centers for political discussion, temples and even brothel houses depicting sex positions everywhere for those ones with less sexual imagination. Pompeii sends you back, like in a time machine, to an ordinary day that suddenly became dark, very dark. A day when everyone had to rush out of the city, living everything behind, trying to survive. But not all managed to survive. Many perished, breathing the ashes that were contaminating the air, falling everywhere, some embracing themselves asphyxiating, while mothers tried to protect their children in vain. Pompeii is fascinating but terrifying at the same time. Even with crowds of people visiting the city daily, it is a peaceful place, without much noise, as if everyone needed to show respect for those ones who died on that August 24th, 79 AD. If you’re planning to visit the city, I advise you to go early in the day. The city is huge, and it would take you at least four hours to visit everything. At the entrance they will give you guide with maps and information about every single you can visit. To enter the city you can also just choose the entrance that best suits you, as there are many around the city. If you’re travelling by car, there are several paid parking lots where you can safely leave your car, and then just enter through the nearest entrance. There are also four other sites that were buried under the ashes of the Vesuvius that you can visit: Herculaneum, Oplontis, Boscoreale and the Stabian villas. There are several guided tours that you can book, if you wish to visit them all, and have a complete insight. For more information you can visit Pompeii’s website - www.pompeiisites.org.
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