The legacy of Pompeii and its volcano

On August 24, AD 79, a terrible eruption of Mount Vesuvius deranged life in beautiful Pompeii and killed thousands of men, women, and children. They were restored to us by the fact that Mount Vesuvius, with its rain of ashes, proved to be a skilled sculptor, preserving the shape and even the wrinkles in the clothes the Pompeians wore while trying to escape during the day of the tragedy. The detailed description of Plinius the Younger and modern static studies of the eruptive residues have made it possible to reconstruct with great accuracy the various phases of the eruption that took place 2000 years ago, including the hours and days during which the phenomena first became obvious. Today, almost 2000 years later, Pompeii has reawakened and risen from its sepulcher of ashes thanks to the excavations initiated under King Charles III of Bourbon in 1748. Excavations proceeded slowly under the Bourbons, with the aim of enriching the Bourbon Museum of Naples rather than of classifying the ruins and placing them into a historical context. Under Joachim Murat, interest in the town planning and architecture of the uncovered cities reemerged, especially with respect to Pompeii. In 1860, however, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy, the excavations, now under the direction of archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli, were provided new impetus and, finally, a scientific basis. Today, the excavations are giving us back extraordinary evidence concerning the culture, the everyday life, the habits, the architecture, and the wonderful frescoes of the Roman cities of southern Italy, making possible the statement that Pompeii is "the most alive of the dead cities."