Pompeii was a flourishing ancient Roman town with a complex water system, an amphitheatre, a gymnasium and a port. In 79 AD the town was destroyed during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius and was buried under tons of ash. Pliny the Younger described the catastrophe in a letter.
In 1599 Pompeii was rediscovered and since the 18th century it has been progressively excavated and made accessible to the public. It provides an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of the city, as its artefacts were preserved for centuries due to the lack of air and moisture.
Pompeii is today one of the most visited sights of Italy. The Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata are since 1997 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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