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| Country | Italy | |
| Region | Campaign | |
| Population | 25000 (2019) | |
| High | 14m | |
Pompeii (Italian: Pompeii, Latin: Pompeii) is a city in Campaign in the south Italy, near the southern foot of the volcano Vesuvius, and famous for the vast remains of the ancient Roman city, destroyed by the volcano in the year 79 AD.
Understand
Several volcanoes between Rome and Naples formed a plain along the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, closed east of the Apennine Mountains. Vesuvius, the volcano that appeared last, separated the southern part of that plain from the rest.
Pompeii lies southeast of Vesuvius, in that small flat part; to the south are limestone mountains, a branch of the Apennines.
History
Pompeii was founded probably in the 9th century BC. of Oscars, and probably its name comes from the Oscan word pumps, i.e. "five". Despite the alternating predominance of Greeks, Etruscans and samnites, Pompeii actually remained an Oscan city until the Roman conquest in 89 BC. followed the inter-Allied war.
The proximity to the sea and the fertile volcanic soil helped Pompeii's prosperity while the volcano looked dormant. But in 79 AD. Vesuvius abruptly reawakened with a terrible eruption, which buried in 24 hours the whole of Pompeii under a thick layer of ash. Houses, shops, streets, people and animals remained under that layer for 17 centuries or more, until they were excavated again.
After the eruption, the nearby plain became marshy and unhealthy as the ashes clogged the river Sarnon. During the Middle Ages a village was refounded, but in a higher place where there were no marches. Only at the beginning of the Hundred did canals, barriers and dams remove the marches, so that fields and houses could increase in the place of the vanished Pompeii.
The recovery of an old painting of the Virgin Mary was the cause of the founding of a new sanctuary, which attracted a large number of pilgrims. The village that appeared a few decades ago grew rapidly. For a long time, however, it was only a fraction of the nearby town Scafati, called the Pompeii Valley, t.e. valley of the river Sarno near the ancient city Pompeii. Only in 1928 was the village so large that it was recognized as a real town, the seat of a new community created under the name Pompeii.
Climate
The climate is Mediterranean, with winters cool and rainy and summers dry and hot.
For more information, take a look at the climate of Naples, which is similar.
Access
Aliri avie
The nearest airports are Naples and Salerno.
Access by train
You can reach Pompeii by train and by Trenitalia (Italian national railway company) and by Circumvesuviana (= "circus"), a local railway company.
The trains of Trenitalia connects Pompeii mainly with Naples and Salerno. The station is south of the current town (about 400m away from the center). Trains stopping in Pompeii run mostly from Naples (Central Station) to Salerno and again; every hour there are usually 1 or 2 trains. The journey takes 45-55 minutes from Naples and about 45 minutes from Salerno.
Schedule web pages: Train traveler (in 9 languages) * about timetable and tickets: Trenitalia (in four languages)
The company Circumvesuviana (managed by E.A.V.) affects Pompeii with two lines and two different stations:
- Naples-Sorrento line (L1), 1-2 trains per hour; the journey from Naples lasts ca. 25-40 minutes; the station of Pompeii is Pompeii Excavations Villa dei Misteri and adjacent to the ancient Roman city (western entrance).
- Naples-Poggiomarino line (L4), 1 train per hour; the journey from Naples lasts ca. 45 minutes; the station of Pompeii is Pompeii Sanctuary and adjacent to the present-day town, on the north side (about 200m away from the center).
Schedule website: E.A.V. (only in Italian)
Access bus
Access by car
The highway A3 Naples-Salerno has two exits near Pompeii: Pompeii Excavations - Villa of Mysteries (to the west, near the Roman city) and Pompeii East - Scafati (east of the present town).
For travelers coming from places north of Naples, it is also possible to drive through the highway A30 and exit at Palma Campania. From there, it is approx. 20km through fairly smooth roads.
To be transported
To be transported on foot
Public transport
Transport by car
See
Fari
Buy
Stores
Eat
Drink
To live
Campsites
Some campsites near Pompeii:
- Town "Spartacus" (next to the entrance of the Roman city, information in 6 languages)
- Camping "Zeus" (information in Italian and English)
- Villa "Fortuna" (next to the entrance of the Roman city, information only in Italian)
Hostels
Hotels
Security
Esperanto
Local Esperantists
Visit further
Vesuvius destroyed other Roman sites, in addition to Pompeii. Herculaneum (Latin: Herculanum, itale: Herculaneum), c. 18km northwest, shows the impact of lava. Oplontis (Latin name; Italian Oplonti), just 6km to the west, was a Roman villa, today surrounded by the city Torre Annunziata. Further remains of Roman villas destroyed by the volcanic violence are east of Castellammare di Stabia (Latin Stabia), 7km south.
From another point of view, the Vesuvius itself worth a visit. Be sure to visit the crater shore, where the signs of past eruptions (the last one occurred in 1944) are evident. The landscape is completely unusual, unless you have already visited other volcanoes.
Completely different natural sights are southwest of Pompeii, on the peninsula of Pompeii Sorrento, with its mountains (up to 1400m) covered by dense forests and its rocky shores, softer to the north, steeper to the south. Sorrento (27km from Pompeii) is a town worth visiting; from its port it is possible to travel by boat to the nearby, very famous island of Capri (Capri). On the south coast is Positano (Italian: Positano), 34km from Pompeii, a charming town at the beginning of the Amalfa Coast (Italian Amalfi Coast), a succession of imposing rocks almost vertical sideways to the sea.
There are also several medieval buildings in the surrounding towns, of which we mention here only the most important:
- the Abbey of the Holy Trinity, founded in the year 1011 on a hill east of Cava de 'Tirreni (26km from Pompeii)
- the Castle of San Severino Market (32km from Pompeii)
- the medieval town Amalfi, gave its name to the entire coast between Salerno and Sorrento, which was during the Middle Ages a maritime republic, as the most famous and richest Venice, Genoa and Pisa. There is still the cathedral and other buildings from that prosperous time. Nearby is Ravello, also a medieval town.
