Pompeii Archaeological Park

Pompeii lies in the modern town of Pompei, about 25 kilometres southeast of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. The ancient city is managed by the Parco Archeologico di Pompei and, together with Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

The town was founded before the Romans and became a prosperous Roman city with perhaps 11,000 inhabitants. In AD 79 Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried it under 4 to 6 metres of ash and pumice. The city was rediscovered in the eighteenth century, and excavation began in 1748 and continues today.

About two thirds of the walled city has been uncovered. Visitors walk paved streets with stepping stones, see the Forum, the Amphitheatre, one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatres, theatres, bath houses, bakeries and taverns. Houses such as the House of the Vettii and the House of the Faun have frescoes and mosaics, and the Villa of the Mysteries outside the walls has a famous painted room.

Plaster casts made by filling the spaces left by victims' bodies in the ash show people in their last moments. Tickets are timed and visitor numbers are capped, so booking ahead on the official site is advised. From 12 January 2026 the standard Pompeii ticket costs €20, a ticket that adds the suburban villas, Villa Regina at Boscoreale and the Antiquarium costs €25, and a 3-day ticket €30. Visitors under 18 enter free, and entry is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month. The Pompei Scavi station on the Circumvesuviana line from Naples is next to the main entrance.

The city was already damaged when Vesuvius erupted. Its people were used to small tremors, which Pliny the Younger described as common in Campania, but on 5 February 62 a severe earthquake, estimated at magnitude 5 to 6, hit the bay hard. Fires from fallen oil lamps added to the destruction. In the 17 years before the eruption much of the rebuilding was done privately, older frescoes were painted over, and some public works, such as the Central Baths, were begun after the quake on land cleared of damaged houses. Several of these sites were still unfinished in AD 79.

Walls are worth reading as well as looking at. Thousands of graffiti scratched on houses and shopfronts record the everyday Latin people spoke, from election slogans and adverts to jokes and insults, which is very different from the formal Latin of classical writers.

About 2.5 million people visit each year, which makes Pompeii one of the most visited sites in Italy. Come early or late in the day, carry water, and wear shoes with good grip for the uneven stone streets; shade is scarce in summer.