Over in just a few hours, the disaster that buried a city and its inhabitants under the ashes of Vesuvius has preserved priceless treasures, still intact to this day. On the evening of that August 24, one might have asked what tomorrow would bring—but by dawn, the end had already come.
On February 5th in the year 62 AD, the entire Vesuvian region was devastated by a violent earthquake that nearly destroyed the city of Herculaneum and toppled many buildings in Pompeii. That earthquake was a mere omen of the fatal tragedy that befell Pompeii seventeen years later when, unable to diffuse its roiling energy through a crack in the earth’s crust, Vesuvius burst its dam and began to erupt.
It was August 24, 79 AD.
Celebrations for the Divine Augustus had been in full swing for several days—and for at least four days prior, Pompeii and the surrounding towns had been feeling the shocks of a series of small 
earthquakes.
Portrayed by countless painters, engravers, and watercolorists of every era and nationality—who hasn’t seen the classic image of the Bay of Naples with the steaming volcano in the background?—Vesuvius is located about 7 miles southeast of Naples and 6 miles from Pompeii. Towering 4200 feet into the air, it is the only active volcano within the European continental mass.
Vesuvius belongs to the category of volcano called “gray volcanoes,” so named for the type of material they emit when active—immense quantities of gas, ash, and rock that pour out with explosive force. Rather than lava, which usually appears days or even weeks after an eruption, the characteristic emission of a gray volcano is a “glowing cloud,” which consists of various gases and particles that are too heavy to rise and therefore plunge down the slopes of the volcano at speeds reaching 100 miles per hour—and, in the process, reduce anything in their path to ashes. Some lighter debris does manage to rise and remain suspended in the air in such a way as to create an artificial night that can last for days, until it finally falls in the form of rain.
And that’s what happened that terrible August day in 79 AD when Pompeii was completely buried by a 20-foot high blanket of ash and lapilli.
In those years, the populac
e didn’t know Vesuvius was a volcano; for them, it was a simple mountain whose beautiful, fertile slopes gave rise to their flourishing new towns.
At the time of the eruption, Pompeii itself stretched almost 160 acres and boasted a population of about 20,000. Founded by people of Oscan origin, the city’s good fortune was directly linked to its location on the sea, which made it the central port for the interior towns of Campania. The Greeks, and later the Samnites, made notable contributions to the architectural and urban development of the city, but it wasn’t until the second century BC, when Rome dominated the Mediterranean, that Pompeii experienced its greatest period of economic growth. This state of prosperity brought with it a marked increase in construction in both the public and private sectors, and saw the building of the Odeon Amphitheatre and the House of the Faun.
But on August 24, 79 AD, after a period of calm lasting eight centuries, Vesuvius got back to business. The eruption began around one o’clock in the afternoon with a series of explosions that sent a column of gas, ash, pumice stone, and rock fragments 10 miles into the air, completely obscuring the sun. This phase of the eruption, accompanied by frequent earthquakes, lasted until about eight o’clock the next morning.
The inhabitants of Pompeii, who had already fled their homes two or three nights earlier to seek shelter from the series of earthquakes, had taken advantage of an apparent calm to return to their houses.
But around 8:00 in the morning on August 25th, the column of gas and debris suddenly collapsed and plummeted toward earth. Pompeii and its sleeping citizens, caught in their beds without a hope of escape, were buried under the ashes.
As the glowing clouds reached the city, they destroyed everything, dragging behind them all manner of debris, rock, and anything they met along the way. Those who tried to escape found their desperate efforts futile as the noxious gases overcame the few who had managed to survive. As they crumpled to the ground, they were covered first by a rain of fine ash that adhered to their bodies and clothes, and then by volcanic fluids that enclosed the city in a muddy grip.
Forty-eight hours after the eruption began, Pompeii ceased to exist, leaving behind only a devastating scene of destruction and death.
Over time, the lava that had encased the people cooled and hardened, transforming into striking casts—perfectly preserved even today—of the bodies they held inside that have since faded to nothing.
As the centuries passed, Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum, both buried in the magma the very same night, seemed to have been forgotten forever. It wasn’t until the early 1700s, following excavation work for the construction of a canal, that various objects and tunnels were finally unearthed.
Today, almost 300 years after their official beginning, excavations have brought to light private homes, villas, buildings, and public halls. Sophisticated restoration techniques have allowed us to become acquainted with the customs, trades, commerce, and clothing of the populace—and, for some people, even the last moments of their lives, moments of agony, despair, and panic depicted in the plaster casts of their bodies.
The houses uncovered in Pompeii also brought to light some extraordinary wall paintings, which remain one of the most fascinating aspects of the city. Portraits, colored panels, architectural renderings, marvelous landscapes, or simple ornamentation—it is clear that decorative paintings were considered an essential wall embellishment. From the paintings we can discern that Pompeii was a vital center of commerce, culture, knowledge, and information—and, for those who could afford it, a city well equipped with comforts like bathrooms and spas.
Pompeii may be the only archaeological site that gives us a complete picture of a Roman city in its entirety, a picture that is not unlike that of other cities of the time period, but that is certainly better preserved. Visiting Pompeii, then, means finding yourself in a truly unique place with one of the most impressive examples of architectural and urban planning—but it also means reliving the sad tale of a city and a people lost.
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