EJ · Pompeii Excursion with lunch

Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Along with Herculaneum, its sister city, Pompeii was destroyed, and completely buried, during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in AD 79. The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under 60 feet of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1,700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the age of the Roman Empire.
Pompeii today provides first-class evidence of the way of life in ancient times. The extensive and varied ruins of this dead city, in its attractive setting, movingly evoke the memories of a Roman city at the time of the Empire. Pompeii was founded in the 8th Century BC by the Oscans, but by the 6th Century BC a Greek influence was already prevalent in the city from its neighbor Cumae, which was then a powerful Greek colony.  From the end of the 5th Century BC when it became Samnite, to the beginning of the 1st century AD, the city knew new prosperity when town planning and art flourished. In the year 80 BC the town fell under Roman domination and then became a resort for rich Romans. Roman families settled there and Pompeii adopted Roman organization, language, lifestyle, building methods and decoration. When the eruption of the Vesuvius struck, Pompeii was a booming town with a population of about 25,000 inhabitants. It was situated in a fertile region, where trade flourished, and industrial activity existed, and there were numerous shops and workshops. Vesuvius erupted in August of AD 79 destroying Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. By the time of two days Pompeii was buried by a layer of cinder, 20 to 23 ft deep. The younger Pliny, appalled, watched the cataclysm from Cape Miseno and gave a description of the scene, which has become classic. There had been a strong earth tremor in the morning, and a layer of cinder, soon over one meter (three feet) deep, covered the ground. Some of the inhabitants fled, while others took cover indoors. Soon after the cinder fell, molten lava and hot ash fell for a whole day burying Pompeii under a layer of cinder 23 feet deep. Throughout history, this layer of cinder has preserved the town almost intact from the damage of both weather and time. This tour is a most memorable and moving walk through history. After the visit, guests will enjoy lunch at local Restaurant Tiberius.