Pompeii

Visit Pompeii, the ancient Roman city, buried by a Vesuvius explosion 

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula in the 9th century B.C. to a large empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea.   Pompei was a Roman city  that was ruined and buried by the vulcanic explosion of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.  It is near modern Sorrento in the Italian region of Campania, and found in the territory of the present day city of Pompeii.
The ancient inhabitants of Pompeii had commercial contacts with the near Greek colonies of Paestum and they assimilated the culture, the religion and the ways of the populations of  Magna Grecia. The city was dominated by the etruscans, by the Greeks and by the Sannitis. In this period there was great expansion and development. In 290 B.C. it was conquered by the Romans, who, however left Pompeii a certain autonomy.
In the year 79 A.D. there was an eruption of  Vesuvius, and the entire city was covered with a rain of ash and moten rock. It was then preceded by a toxic gas that poisoned the entire population.
Subsequently a torrential rain was provoked which caused an enormous mudslide that covered the entire city of Pompeii.
The volcano collapsed high roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice.  Iit was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748.  Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinary detailed insight  into city life at the height of the Roman Empire.
During the excavations, the outlines of bodies were found and filled with chalk filling which have enabled us  to understand, that a good part of  men and animals died swiftly. In fact,  women and huddled up children can be seen, as if  they had almost fallen asleep and had not seen or understood anything that was happening even a dog tied up on a leash was found. Many of these bodies have been found and it has been possible to reconstruct  exactly what they were doing in the moment of the eruption.
Pompeii is one of the most interesting archaeological sites in the world.  And it is possible to reconstruct the city as it was 2000 years ago: the roads, the houses, the shops, the temples, the theatres.... how they made the bread, how  commerce developed, how they organized the baths....
There is a lot to see for visitors and excavations still continue to discover more allowing us to delve deeper in the study of  the lives of  ancient Romans.
Pompei is a must - for you can see so many reminders of the Roman way of life. You can neve miss it!