Things to do in Pompeii
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Basilica di Santa Chiara
Vast, Gothic and cleverly deceptive, this mighty basilica is actually a 20th-century re-creation of Gagliardo Primario’s 14th-century original. Commissioned by Robert of Anjou for his wife Sancia di Maiorca, the hulking complex was built to house 200 monks and the tombs of the Angevin royal family. Dissed as a ‘stable’ by Robert’s ungrateful son Charles of Anjou, it received a luscious baroque makeover by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Gaetano Buonocore and Giovanni Del Gaizo four centuries later, before taking a direct hit during an Allied air raid on 4 August 1943. Features that survived the fire include part of a 14th-century fresco to the left of the main door and a chapel…
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Villa dei Misteri
On Via Consolare takes you out of the town through Porta Ercolano. Continue past Villa di Diomede, turn right, and you'll come to the Villa dei Misteri, one of the most complete structures left standing in Pompeii. The Dionysiac Frieze, the most important fresco still on site, spans the walls of the large dining room. One of the largest paintings from the ancient world, it depicts the initiation of a bride-to-be into the cult of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
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Santuario della Madonna del Rosario
Dominating modern Pompeii's centre, the Santuario della Madonna del Rosario was consecrated in 1891, some 15 years after the miracle that guaranteed its fame. In 1876 a young girl was cured of epilepsy after praying in front of the painting Virgin of the Rosary with Child, above the main altar. News spread rapidly and to this day the painting is the subject of popular devotion.
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President
Dripping chandeliers meet culinary brilliance at this charming restaurant in modern Pompeii. Here, local produce is celebrated in creations like aubergine millefoglie (flaky puff pastry) with Cetara anchovies, mozzarella filante (melted mozzarella) and grated tarallo (savoury almond biscuit). The degustation menus (€40 to €70) are a gourmand’s delight.
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Casa del Fauno
Turn into Via Stabiana to see some of Pompeii's grandest houses. Turn left into Via della Fortuna for the Casa del Fauno, Pompeii's largest private house. Named after the small bronze statue in the impluvium (rain tank), it was here that early excavators found Pompeii's greatest mosaics, most of which are now in Naples' Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
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Ruins of Pompeii
Nothing piques human curiosity like a mass catastrophe and few beat the ruins of Pompeii. A once-thriving Roman town frozen in its 2000-year-old death throes and conserved under a sea of volcanic pumice, Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) is a stark reminder of the malign forces that lie deep inside Vesuvius.
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Terme Stabiane
On Via dell'Abbondanza, the Terme Stabiane is a typical 2nd-century-BC bath complex. Entering from the vestibule, bathers would stop off in the vaulted apodyterium (changing room) before passing through to the tepidarium (warm room) and caldarium (hot room).
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Cast
You'll almost certainly be approached by a guide outside the scavi ticket office. Authorised guides wear identification tags and belong to one of five cooperatives like Cast. The official price for a two-hour tour, whether you're alone or in a group, is around €100.
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Lupanare
From the market follow Via degli Augustali until Vicolo del Lupanare. Halfway down this narrow alley is the Lupanare, the city's only dedicated brothel. A tiny two-storey building with five rooms on each floor, it's lined with some of Pompeii's raunchiest frescoes.
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Casa della Venere in Conchiglia
Towards the northeastern end of Via dell'Abbondanza, Casa della Venere in Conchiglia harbours a lovely peristyle looking onto a small, manicured garden. It's here in the garden that you'll find the striking Venus fresco after which the house is named.
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Porta Marina
The ruin site's main entrance is at Porta Marina, the most impressive of the seven gates that punctuated the ancient town walls. A busy passageway, now as then, it originally connected the town with the nearby harbour.
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Ristorante Lucullus
Near the ruins and set back from the main road down an oleander-fringed drive, Lucullus does good pizzas as well as classic meat dishes and a delicious penne Lucullus (pasta with squash and prawns).
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Granai del Foro
The Granai del Foro, now used to store hundreds of amphorae and a number of body casts. These casts were made in the late 19th century by pouring plaster into the hollows left by disintegrated bodies.
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Quadriportico dei Teatri
Behind the Teatro Grande's stage, the porticoed Quadriportico dei Teatri was initially used for the audience to stroll between acts and later as a barracks for gladiators.
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Casa dei Vettii
To the north in the ruins, on Vicolo di Mercurio, the Casa dei Vettii is home to a famous depiction of Priapus with his gigantic phallus balanced on a pair of scales.
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Anfiteatro
The grassy anfiteatro is the oldest-known Roman amphitheatre in existence. Built in 70 BC, it was at one time capable of holding up to 20,000 bloodthirsty spectators.
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Canteen
Although closed during the writing of this guide, the onsite canteen at the ruins was set to re-open soon. You’ll find it near the Tempio di Giove.
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Tempio di Venere
Immediately on the right as you enter the ruin's main entrance is the 1st-century BC Tempio di Venere, formerly one of the town's most opulent temples.
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Tempio di Apollo
Opposite the basilica, the Tempio di Apollo is the oldest and most important of Pompeii's religious buildings, dating to the 2nd century BC.
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Foro
The grassy foro adjacent to the temple was the city's main piazza - a huge traffic-free rectangle flanked by limestone columns.
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Grande Palestra
The Grande Palestra is an athletics field with an impressive portico and, at its centre, the remains of a swimming pool.
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Teatro Grande
The main attraction at Foro Triangolare was, and still is, the 2nd-century-BC Teatro Grande, a huge 5000-seat theatre.
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Casa del Poeta Tragico
The Casa del Poeta Tragico features the world's first 'beware of the dog' - cave canem - warnings.
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Teatro Piccolo
Next door to Teatro Grande, the Teatro Piccolo, also known as the Odeion, was once an indoor theatre.
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Foro Triangolare
At the end of Via dei Teatri, the green Foro Triangolare would originally have overlooked the sea.
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