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Pompeii was destroyed, and
completely buried, during a long
catastrophic eruption of the Mount
Vesuvius spanning two/three days in
AD 79.
The volcano collapsed higher
roof-lines and buried Pompeii under
many meters of ash and pumice, and
it was lost for nearly 1700 years
before its accidental rediscovery in
1748. Since then, its excavation has
provided an extraordinarily detailed
insight into the life of a city at
the height of the Roman Empire.
Today, it is both one of the most
popular tourist attractions of
Italy, with 2,571,725 visitors in
2007, and a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. There is no place like Pompei
that really makes you travel back in
time and walk around as if you were
a roman, a patrician, a slave, an
excited spectator in a noisy crowd
in the theatre, a wine merchant or a
naughty sailor heading to the
brothel. Compulsory. |
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