Herculaneum

Parco Archeologico di Ercolano

A seaside town buried alongside Pompeii. Volcanic pyroclastic flows preserved wooden staircases, beds and two-story houses, far better than Pompeii.

Herculaneum (Ercolano) was a Roman seaside town of wealthy residents on the western foothills of Vesuvius. In 79 AD it was buried under 20 meters of pyroclastic flows and mudflows. The intense heat instantly carbonized the wood and food, preserving wooden staircases, doors and windows, bed frames, rope, and even bread and papyrus scrolls that Pompeii does not have. Many houses remain intact with two stories. The excavated site covers only 4.5 hectares, since most of the ancient town still lies beneath the modern town. From the elevated path at the entrance you can overlook the entire excavation area and the modern houses above it, which gives a vivid sense of how deep the burial was. Must-sees include the House of Neptune and Amphitrite (colored glass mosaics), the House of the Stags, the House of the Wooden Partition, the Suburban Baths, and the boathouses (fornici) on the shore, where more than 300 skeletons were found in the 1980s, belonging to people who died while waiting for rescue. Admission is about €16 (about €22 combined with Pompeii). It is open 08:30–19:30 from April to October and 08:30–17:00 from November to March, and it is also open on Mondays. Entry is free on the first Sunday of each month. The site is uncrowded and can be seen in about 2 hours, and many visitors find it more moving than Pompeii. Getting there: from Naples' Garibaldi Station, take the Circumvesuviana about 20 minutes to Ercolano Scavi station, then walk straight downhill for 10 minutes to the entrance. Shuttle buses to Mount Vesuvius also leave from in front of the station. Next door, the MAV Virtual Archaeological Museum (€10) uses multimedia to recreate how Pompeii and Herculaneum looked in their day, and it is great for families. For a one-day trip, combine it with Mount Vesuvius or Pompeii: Herculaneum in the morning, Vesuvius in the afternoon.

Herculaneum

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