ACTIVE FROM 01 APRIL TO 31 OCTOBER – DEPARTURE FROM SORRENTO
• Air-conditioned bus
• Licensed guide
• Not included: optional meals and entrance fees
A visit to the excavations of Pompeii is a unique and unforgettable experience: there is no archaeological site in the world comparable to that of Pompeii from any point of view, even in terms of size. The area of the ancient city destroyed by the earthquake of 79 AD is immense: a city of more than 10,000 inhabitants – which made it a medium-large city for the time – still intact in its urban structure. The catastrophe that struck it then was, as Goethe said with a bit of cynicism, a great fortune for posterity.
The great pleasure of visiting Pompeii is not seeing beautiful monuments (which are also there), or to admire works of art (numerous, by the way), but to see a city of two thousand years ago in which you can see daily life, everyday life. The houses, in different types, can be visited to understand how the ancient inhabitants of the Roman Empire lived, with a large atrium from which to take light and air, around which the rooms expanded, large and decorated according to the wealth of the owner. And here you can see the wonders of the House of the Dancing Faun, or the Villa of the Mysteries, frescoed, adorned with mosaics and statues, sumptuous and comfortable. And then there are the places of entertainment, from the Theater where serious operas and comedies were performed, but also farces and mimes, or the Amphitheater, where gladiator shows took place. Then there are, clearly recognizable, the shops, with the counter and the place for goods for sale. Then there is the Forum, where public life took place, with the Temple of Jupiter, the Macellum, that is, the market, and then the Basilica, where the trials took place.
Vesuvius looms over Pompeii, beautiful and majestic, almost placid we would say, and instead devastating terrible. The climb to the volcano, still active, is a spectacle over the entire Gulf of Naples with an extraordinary panorama that goes from Capri to the islands of Ischia and Procida on the other side, with the view of the city of Naples stretched out along the sea, and the Sorrento peninsula. You go up to the Observatory at 608 mt from which the volcano is constantly monitored, and then you arrive at the chairlift station from which you can enjoy the most beautiful view.