Pompeii is the best preserved ancient city in the world because of a massive and historic natural disaster. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the terrible volcano located just a few kilometres north of the important ancient city and summer resort of ancient Rome.
Access to ancient Pompeii
In the southern Italian region of Campania, 25 km from Naples (read the article about Maradona’s city), the third largest city in the country, you will find one of the most important archaeological sites not only in Italy but also in the world.
You can see the road route from Naples to the Vesuvius car park and the archaeological site of Pompeii here.
One of the most touristic historical sites in Italy, obtaining a ticket and access to the parking area and then to the entrance of the archaeological site is a fairly easy process that you can do on your own, unlike Vesuvius for example, which as we described in our article about the historic mountain and volcano, from start to finish is an exercise for strong solvers and strong nerves.
For ancient Pompeii, however, things are much simpler. You book your ticket online, park your car close enough to the entrance and that’s it. At least that’s how it was with us who arrived a bit late and generally didn’t get many people. It was also a weekday so definitely if you go during peak hours and weekend or holidays you might have a different experience.
Accommodation in ancient Pompeii
A little history about Pompeii
The city flourished until the summer or autumn of 79 AD. It had 20 to 30 thousand inhabitants and because of the fertile valley where it was located, it had a large production and intense commercial activity. Moreover, its perfect climate and access to the Mediterranean made it an attractive destination for the lords of Rome who had their luxurious mansions there. But all this came to an end in the worst way in 79 AD when the terrible Mount Vesuvius exploded.
The inhabitants of Pompeii until then had unpleasant experiences and memories of the volcano only because of the strong earthquakes it had caused in the past. The eruption of 79mX found them unprepared for this reason, which explains the fact that while they had time to evacuate the city, many inhabitants stayed there, making the biggest and last mistake of their lives.
That they had time to leave the city has been deduced from the fact that less than 10% of the city’s inhabitants died in the explosion. The effects of which were not immediate as they left little or no room for escape. In short, more historical and archaeological details can be found on the relevant Wikipedia page, the city was completely covered within 2 days by volcanic ash and rocks.
We are talking about a height of 7 meters of overlap, that is, we had complete coverage of the city, hence its preservation over the centuries in an incredibly good condition. The first discovery of the ancient city was made in 1572 and even today research and excavations continue in the wider area.
A few words about the visit to ancient Pompeii
Our visit lasted about 3 hours. In general, it would be a good idea to buy the more expensive ticket, which gives access to all the perfectly preserved villas, (I can’t understand why they have a “premioum” ticket, but whatever) and spend a whole day in the archaeological site. This is something we didn’t do as due to time constraints we decided to visit both Vesuvius and Pompeii on the same day, which can be done but will be very tiring.
The visit to Vesuvius has a lot of climbing while Pompeii has a lot of walking in its narrow streets and the long roads that lead to various points of interest in the ancient city. So it would be advisable to dedicate a day to each and take several breaks for rest and information assimilation.
We didn’t have time to book a tour guide with a group but a friend who did it a few days before told us it was well worth it. Take water and food with you because neither the quality nor the prices filled our eyes.
On your way back to Naples, if you are independent with your own car, you can take the coastal roads rather than the highway, see what the coastal area looks like all the way to Naples and maybe stop for lunch at Torre del Greco (we had a nice seafood meal at La Voce del Mare)
Accommodation in ancient Pompeii
Photos from Ancient Pompeii
As I mentioned above our family visit to Pompeii lasted 3 hours. We would have stayed longer but at 6pm the place was closing and we had to leave. We were hungry of course so our visit to Torre del Greco after an hour was just in time.
So take a look at the photos I took during this 3 hours and tell me what you think if you want in the comments below.
Map of Vesuvius, Naples and Pompeii
Βεζούβιος, φωτογραφίες και άρθρο
Sentiero del Grande Cono, Ercolano, Napoli, Campania, 80040, Italy
Πομπηία, φωτογραφίες και χρήσιμες πληροφορίες
Pompei, Napoli, Campania, 80045, Italy
Για ωραία θαλασσινά
Vico Portosalvo, Torre del Greco, Napoli, Campania, 80056, Italy
Για τέλεια θέα στη Νάπολη και τον Βεζούβιο.
Largo San Martino, Vomero, Municipalità 2, Naples, Napoli, Campania, 80135, Italy
Υπόγεια Νάπολη, δείτε το άρθρο
Antica Trattoria da Carmine, 330, Via dei Tribunali, San Lorenzo, Municipalità 4, Naples, Napoli, Campania, 80138, Italy
Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, Rione Vasto, Municipalità 4, Naples, Napoli, Campania, 80142, Italy
Naples, Napoli, Campania, Italy
Via Luculliana, Pizzofalcone, Municipalità 1, Naples, Napoli, Campania, 80132, Italy
The Duomo House by House In Naples, 133, Via Duomo, San Lorenzo, Municipalità 4, Naples, Napoli, Campania, 80138, Italy
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