The eruption of Vesuvius killed thousands of people and ended a way of life within the area—it was many centuries before the coastal region along the Bay of Naples, where the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum lay, recovered its status as a place to which wealthy and cultured people would again flock to live. Many more centuries would pass before the area returned to a level of sophistication approaching that of 79AD.

The ancient town of Pompeii lay in ruins, buried and forgotten within several generations after the eruption of Vesuvius. The suburban areas of Oplontis, Terzigno and Moregine suffered a similar fate. No trace remained of the town of Herculaneum, entombed under almost 75 feet of volcanic rock. But the people of those cites remained, buried along with their towns, their houses, families and possessions. These are the tales from an eruption.

POMPEII

HERCULANEUM

MOREGINE

OPLONTIS

TERZIGNO