Some came back later to retrieve their remaining possessions and a fair bit was robbed subsequent looters.

Robert Harris's harrowing novel Pompeii illustrates why historical fiction can often inspire readers with more wonder than a nonfiction work does. The novel uses its characters to contrast the decadent culture of 1st-century Rome with both older cultures and coming trends. More often than not, people forget that the Vesuvian sites are, as gruesome as it sounds, large mass burials – not just of the cities themselves, but of people. Our need for ritual is primordial, and embracing its logic can help us connect, find meaning and discover who we are. Firstly there was ample warning of what was about to happen, so we see a town preparing for the eruptions, or indeed repairing the previous damage(and not just from the much earlier earthquake).The museum's Pompeii exhibits are breathtaking and include frescoes, statues, ornamental objects, and everyday items. What Lazar does is open your eyes to just how much information there is to be found from the casts and skeletons, and the potential to learn so much more about people and life in the first century.

Most of the city was evacuated during the catastrophe, its contents largely removed by the fleeing inhabitants.

If you choose to stay elsewhere (such as in Sorrento or Naples), you can either drive to Pompeii and park (there are many parking lots across from the Porta Marina entrance for about 5 euros a day) or you can take the Circumvesuviana train.