Pompei: a modern town beside an ancient buried city

Pompei, near Pompeji in Italy, pairs a twentieth-century pilgrimage town with the world?famous Roman ruins of Pompeii, revealing two very different layers of Campania.

Pompei in Campania sits beside one of the world’s best known archaeological sites, where the ancient Roman city of Pompeii was buried by Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.ancient Roman city of Pompeii The modern municipality of Pompei grew up later around a Marian sanctuary and was formally established in 1928 in the Metropolitan City of Naples.modern municipality of Pompei

Pompei and the buried Roman city side by side

Pompeii was a thriving Roman town at the southeastern base of Mount Vesuvius, built on a spur of hardened lava above the Sarno river plain.southeastern base of Mount Vesuvius On 24 August AD 79 Vesuvius erupted, engulfing Pompeii, Herculaneum and nearby villas, covering streets and houses with thick deposits of ash and rock.eruption on 24 August AD 79 Centuries of excavation have uncovered an extensive area of Pompeii’s streets, homes, shops and public buildings, giving a remarkably complete plan of a Roman town at the height of the empire.complete picture of an ancient Roman city

The archaeological area of Pompeii lies within the modern municipality of Pompei in Campania, south-east of Naples, and is managed as the Parco Archeologico di Pompei.Parco Archeologico di Pompei Streets paved with polygonal stone run between excavated houses, baths and the forum, preserving details such as shop fronts and courtyards that make the site a detailed record of everyday Roman urban life.streets paved with polygonal stones

Pompei’s Marian sanctuary and modern town

While the ruins record a moment in the first century, Pompei itself is a twentieth-century municipality shaped by Catholic pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary.Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary The sanctuary’s construction began in May 1876, and offerings were gathered from the faithful, including a campaign based on a small monthly donation, which helped establish Pompei as a devotional centre.construction began in May 1876

Modern Pompei became a municipality on 29 March 1928, incorporating the archaeological zone and the sanctuary into a single civic territory.municipality on 29 March 1928 The town lies in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Campania region and has a population of over 23,000 residents, with urban districts spreading around the basilica and towards the excavations.city in the Metropolitan City of Naples

UNESCO recognition and the Vesuvian landscape

The archaeological areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata were inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997 as a serial property under criteria (iii), (iv) and (v).inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 The listing recognises that the excavated towns and villas provide living evidence of Roman society and daily life at a precise moment in the past.living evidence of a society and everyday life Within this property, Pompeii’s excavated area covers dozens of hectares, giving archaeologists and visitors access to streets, houses and frescoed interiors preserved under volcanic deposits.excavated area of 44 ha

Pompei’s setting beneath Mount Vesuvius and near the Sarno river places it in a flat volcanic landscape framed by the cone of the volcano and the Gulf of Naples beyond.spur formed by a prehistoric lava flow The proximity of the town, the sanctuary and the excavations means that religious architecture, modern streets and ancient ruins are all within the same urban area, creating a distinctive combination of living city and archaeological park.modern town beside the excavations

Visiting Pompei: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Pompei lies south-east of Naples in Campania and is reached by regional rail services on lines between Naples, Poggiomarino, Torre Annunziata, Sorrento and Salerno, as well as by road connections near the A3 motorway.
• The archaeological site and parts of the town stand on level ground at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, with long paved streets in the ruins and some extended walking between different areas.
• The official language is Italian and the currency is the euro.

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Frequently asked questions about Pompei

Where is Pompei and what is nearby?

Pompei is a city in Campania south-east of Naples, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, and stands beside the archaeological site of ancient Pompeii.

What can visitors expect when they come to Pompei?

Visitors encounter a working Italian town with a Marian sanctuary and, within the same municipal area, extensive excavated Roman streets, houses and public buildings preserved under volcanic ash.

What makes Pompei distinctive compared with other towns?

Pompei combines a twentieth-century pilgrimage centre and modern municipality with a UNESCO-listed archaeological park that gives a detailed urban picture of a first-century Roman city.