The city of Pompeii was founded approximately 2700 years ago, by the people of Osci, (an ancient Italic people from Campania, Italy). Pompeii was ideal for the creation of a town because its position permitted the control of possible enemy attacks. It also favoured commerce and navigation due to its close proximity to the sea and the river Sarno. Pompeii therefore became an important commercial centre that aroused great interest and was occupied by diverse peoples, from the Greeks to the Romans. The city by 80AD had become a real and proper Roman colony and took on: practices, architecture, religion and administration of an imperial city.
In 79 A.D., Pompeii was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius, whose ash and lapilli, fell on the city completely covering it with a layer of volcanic material no less than 7 meters high. The only witness to the event is provided in the letters of Pliny the Younger who wrote to the Roman historian Tacitus.
After the eruption, with the passage of centuries, the exact position of the buried city was lost. It was only with the excavations of 1700, under the reign of the Bourbons, that the first remains of the city begin to emerge.
The excavations effectively began after the unifications of Italy in 1861 and since then, about two thirds of the city has been brought to light.
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The city of Pompeii presents itself today as an important touristic centre, visited every year by millions of visitors that are attracted by its ancient and recent history.
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An itinerary of 2 hours in the Pompeii excavations.
Here we suggest an itinerary of 2 hours to visit the main attractions of the site.
Read moreHotel Maiuri offers to its guests Free Parking in front of the Pompeii excavations entrance.