A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, the archaeological area comprising the excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Oplontis (today's Torre Annunziata) is rightfully among the places to visit at least once in a lifetime. 

The devastation that swept through the cities in the shadow of Vesuvius following the eruption of 24 August 79 AD crystallised a piece of a lost society, a slice of Roman life condensed into a microcosm of earth, ash and rock.