The origins of Pompeii
Pompeii is one of the most important and best-known archeological site in the world. The city was completely destroyed in the 79 A.C. by the eruption of mount Vesuvius and then was buried by ashes and lapilli.
Pompeii was a big city with commercial function. The first settlements in this area date back to the VIII century BC. with Oscans’ presence. Later on the town gravitated in the Greek orbit and then in the Etruscans’ one. After the Sunnis’s period with the presence of Romans it became the city we know as arisen by excavations. The commerce in Pompeii included wine, oil, garum (fish sauce), etc. At the moment of the eruption the city was busy, above all, in the reconstruction of the buildings collapsed during the violent earthquake of the 62 AC. Anyway the eruption of the 79 AC. marked the end of the city that was completely destroyed.
The archaeological treasure
The first excavations in the area of the ancient Pompeii started in 1748 after the discovery of Herculaneum and it was strongly wanted by the Bourbon dynasty. Currently it is possible to see the town still in the 79 AC. with its important public and private buildings, but you can also understand the sufferings of the citizens dead during the eruption as well. The plaster casts of the citizens dead during the eruption show the last moments lived by people in Pompeii.
Visiting Pompeii is like making a wonderful trip through ages and history and this makes possible to concretely understand how the citizens of Pompeii lived in the past.